HackVirus
by dragonmaster8
Summary: A new virus has been spread all over The World, and this time, it's effecting the PCs, and endangering their real lives. Tsukasa has also gone missing, and Subaru will stop at nothing to find him. Updated! Ch21 up! COMPLETE. Please review!
1. Login

*PROLOGUE *  
  
*Noooooo! *  
  
*Help Me! Please! *  
  
*What are you doing to him?!? *  
  
*SILENCE! THIS WAVEMASTER IS NECESSARY FOR MY PLAN. YOU ARE NOT. BE GONE WITH YOU AXEMAN! *  
  
*Nooooo! *  
  
*Stop it! This isn't right! *  
  
TERMINAL ONE.. GAME OVER.  
  
Login  
  
"Whoa! Is this for real? No, I forget so easily. It's only a game." Male heavy Axemen Ryuoku watched all of the other PCs running around the city like rats in a maze, desperate to get the cheese waiting at the oh so close end. He started playing "The World" only just a few minutes ago. His name? He chose that because it was pretty much his name in the real world.  
  
His mom had bought him the newest version of the world. It was impossible to find anywhere. But his mom worked for CC Corp., which allowed her to get a copy factory direct. The bad news was that she was never home. His father had died a few months ago, and with him being an only child, it got quite lonely at home. He didn't have friends either, probably because he wasn't exactly the friendliest person..  
  
The new version had excellent character design options. You could make a character look any way you wanted. His character had deep blue messy hair, a bluish, purplish kind of vest over a black t-shirt, and baggy black cargo pants. He also wore a black spiky bracelet on his left wrist and short black boots. His axe was slung to his back somehow, but he really didn't care.  
  
"Um, what should I do know? Where should I go? And who the heck am I talking to?!?" He was lost in his own thoughts when a female heavyblade startled him from behind.  
  
"Hi there. I'm Sharie, would you like to form a party with me?"  
  
Ryuoku just stared, then realized he was being rude, and hastily answered. "S-sure! I guess-."  
  
"Great! Let's go!"  
  
Ryuoku quickly followed her to the chaos gate. He had a feeling that he shouldn't leave the marvelous water city of Mac Anu, but at the same time, he new that he had to go.  
The dungeon was only a level one, but it was very creepy. It was like he was inside something. Something unpleasant.  
  
"Wha-what's that thing?" said Ryuoku hesitantly as the first portal appeared.  
  
"That's a portal! Excellent! Now we can thrash some monsters!" replied Sharie in quite a happy mood, her purple hair waving in a joyous way as she ran towards the opening portal. She quickly stopped once the monster came out and ran back, screaming.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Ryuoku, slightly confused.  
  
"Th-th-tha-that mon-mons-!"  
  
"Out with it woman!"  
  
"That monster isn't supposed to be here! It's a level 50 and where only level one!'  
  
"So? Won't we just get more experience points when we win?"  
  
"IT'LL KILL US BEFORE WE TAKE TWO STEPS!" she hollered back.  
  
"Please do not be afraid," said a voice. The owner of the voice jumped out of the shadows and in one false swoop, destroyed the monster. Sharie and Ryuoku both gained 2500exp. Enough for four levels up.  
  
They heard a strange melody, and were warped to the field.  
  
"How did we get out here?" asked Sharie.  
  
"I used a sprite ocarina. Please gate out to Mac Anu and meet me on the bridge at the center of the town.  
  
Ryuoku turned around to see the person who had rescued them from that crazy monster, but she had already gated out.  
  
"Let's go," said Ryuoku.  
  
"Right," answered Sharie as quick as she could. They both gated out.  
  
When they were back in the root town, they wasted no time heading to the bridge. They were too anxious to find out who that voice belonged to.  
  
When they reached the bridge, they saw a beautiful female heavy axeman. She wore a blue outfit and had little angel wings on her back.  
  
"My name is Subaru, and I wish to ask both of you to a faver." 


	2. Request

Request  
  
"My name is Subaru, and I have a favor to ask of you both."  
  
"NOOOOOO WAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE SO COOL! IM YOUR NUMBERONEFANANDIALWAYSWANTEDTOMEETYOUBUTMYFRIENDSSAIDYOUWEREONLYALEGENDBUTIK NEWBETTERANDPLEASEPPLEASEFORMA PARTYWITHMEORATLEASTGIVEMEYOURMEMBERADRESSSO- !"  
  
"Breath woman!" interrupted Ryuoku, still in shock that someone could say so many words in a single sentence.  
  
"I apologize to your friend, but I cannot release my member address to her. I have very limited time, and, not to be rude, but I am afraid that I cannot trust very many PCs," said Subaru.  
  
"Why? What's wrong?" asked Ryuoku.  
  
"Yah, are you being threatened or something?" Sharie added.  
  
"No, it's nothing like that, I just need to ask a favor."  
  
"Oh damn it!" exclaimed Sharie. "My cat just went on the carpet. Sorry, but, I got to log out." She hastily ran to the chaos gate, and disappeared in a swarm of yellow rings.  
  
"Now, I must ask you to help me with something. I need you to go to a certain field for me. In the dungeon, actually it's a tower; there should be someone on the top floor who can hack gates. Please go there, and ask him of he could help Lady Subaru, as I am more formally known. The key words there are Hidden Bronze Tower of Truth. Will you please get him for me?" asked Subaru.  
  
"Hold on, why do you need a hacker to help you? I herd that there no good crooks in the world."  
  
"Please, don't ask why. Just, can you please help me? Please."  
  
"Alright,"  
  
"Thank you, Please go right now. The battle level is only 6, so it shouldn't be to hard. And it's only two floors. On the second floor, there should be the one who can help me." She logged out, leaving Ryuoku on the bridge alone.  
  
He went to the gate, and warped to the field.  
  
* * *  
  
The tower was small on the outside, and on the inside, the walls were just as plain as the floor and ceiling. Ryuoku was in the middle of a battle.  
  
"Hyaaaa!" cried Ryuoku as he delivered the finishing blow. The monster faded away, and didn't leave enough Exp. for a level up, but he did leave a blue treasure chest. Ryuoku reached for the lid.  
  
"Wait," he thought, "aren't the blue boxes traps? Better use a fortune wire on it just in case." He pulled an ever-changing color piece of wire out of his item inventory. He gently placed the wire on the blue box, and it began to glow multiple colors, and then, as if making up its mind, it suddenly stopped on yellow. He reached for the lid, but that too began to glow colors. It stopped on red.  
  
"A red chest? That doesn't make sense!" he said to no one. He kicked open the lid, and something blue splashed out. It landed on the floor, and just faded away like a defeated monster. In the bottom of the box was a shining, golden axe.  
  
"Is this some high level weapon?" he asked himself. Confused, he equipped it and started hiking up the stairs.  
  
At the top of the steps, one could see a wide, glassless window. Standing in front of it was a small twinblade. He had on baggy orange pants, and a tight sleeveless orange shirt. He wore a white turtleneck, a goofy looking hat, and emerald green hair. As soon as he noticed Ryuoku, he turned around and started to speak.  
  
"Hey! What's up! My name's Kite, what's yours?"  
  
END  
  
PREVIEW  
  
"Kite? The one of the legendary dot hackers?"  
  
"Subaru needs me to hack a gate?" asked Kite, a little surprised.  
  
"Thank you so much for finding him. But I have one more favor to ask." 


	3. Twins

REVIEWS! YAHHH! KatDrama, Thanks for being the first to review! As for the Tsukasa thing, just wait, I have him planned for some chapters!  
  
Now, on to this chapter!  
  
Twins  
  
"Your Kite? One of the legendary dot hackers?!?" asked Ryuoku in aw. He thought that the dot hackers were just a rumor that was spread through the world to increase the number of people who play the world.  
  
"Yah, is there something wrong with that? Your not some kind of hacker hater are you? 'cause if you are.." Here he stopped, and started shacking his fist. Then he stopped, and noticed that the young axeman who he had just met had an unnatural axe. "Hey, where did you get that axe?"  
  
"Uhhh, this thing?" he asked hesitantly, slowly motioning to his strange, equipped weapon.  
  
"Yeah, that. What's it called?"  
  
"Ummm, I don't know.."  
  
"Why don't you just look it up under your items?"  
  
"Um, okay." He pulled open his item screen on his home computer. Under equipment, the second axe he had, (namely the one he was holding) it's name was all scrambled, and replaced the letters with symbols.  
  
"Uh, my item screen can't read it.."  
  
"That doesn't sound right.. Anyway, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Oh yeah! I completely forgot. I was sent here by Subaru. She needed you for something."  
  
"Subaru? Again? Does she need me to hack a gate again?"  
  
"What? Again? What do you mean by 'again'?"  
  
"She and that little wavemaster already asked me to hack a forbidden field. She claimed it was for a good reason.'  
  
"What wavemaster?"  
  
"When she talked to you, wasn't she with a wavemaster named, um.. I kinda forgot his name. But wasn't she in the company of a wavemaster?"  
  
"No."  
  
"What!? But if she wasn't with him, then. then something must of happened at that field I hacked for them! We should go." As they began to leave the room, a blue pile of 1's and 0's started to form.  
  
"Hey! That thing crawled out of the treasure chest that this axe came from!"  
  
"Are you sure? That's a computer virus.. But still," Now he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "DATA DRAIN!" His bracelet began to glow, but that's about it.  
  
"Damn!"  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"My data drain didn't work!"  
  
"Come again?"  
  
"This bracelet," he flashed around his legendary bracelet, " is supposed to drain all virus', but it didn't effect this one!"  
  
The blue mess was starting to change during Kite's explanation. It grew in to something horrible. A disturbing monster swimming with blue mass. Kite took a swing at it, but nothing happened. It merely grunted.  
  
Kite backed off to the wall, and tried the data drain once again. No effect.  
  
Ryuoku started to worry, he started flailing his axe. " We need some type of Virus Drain or something!"  
  
At the words of Virus Drain, the axe started to glow. Blue wires came out of the axe, and grabbed the creature. Slowly, the information of the virus and creature began to get absorbed by the axe. No matter how much it struggled, it shortly perished.  
  
* * *  
  
Two characters logged into the world for the first time. They were twins. One was a longarm. His character was modeled after his idle, the legendary Crim, only his out-fit was completely black, his favorite color.  
  
The other was a wavemaster with the classic out-fit. A blue, sleeveless sweater with a black long sleeve under it. The bottom was just plain blue, with red boots.  
  
"Are you alright Tsukazi?" asked the longarm, "Are you really letting what that drunken fool of a dad has to say go to your heart?"  
  
**REAL WORLD**  
  
"Your worthless scum!" yelled a father, slamming the boy against the wall. "You got your money stolen again?! Why can't you be more like your brother!?"  
  
The brother hides behind a wall.  
  
"Your pure scum!"  
  
**GAME**  
  
"Um, well.."  
  
"Don't worry, let's just find an adventure."  
  
* * *  
  
"You found him! I'm very pleased," commented an excited Subaru."  
  
"This kid saved my life! He has an axe that drains virus' that my bracelet can't!" shouted Kite in pleasure.  
  
"Uh, it's nothing really."  
  
"You must explain this to me further in a private field, for now, we need to help the person who has gone missing."  
  
"Do you mean-." Started Kite, but Subaru finished.  
  
"Yes Tsukasa. Please hack the gate where I think I picked up a trace on Tsukasa, and then I'll explain more. The keywords are destination, lost, grave. And since we're in a party, let's go together.  
  
Kite went through the classic hacking routine, and they landed in the field. But a pair of twins hastily followed, in hope of getting the details of the conversation they were listening to.  
  
** End**  
  
**PREVIEW**  
  
"We need two parties."  
  
"What is that thing?!?"  
  
"Let's go!!!"  
  
"But, She hasn't come back yet!" 


	4. Heartbeat

Yah! Another review! Again from KatDrama, but someone still reviewed!  
  
KatDrama- A wavemaster is not necessarily a hacker. They really are just a regular player character class. But they could be hackers, like Helba. Only some PCs are hackers (namely only Kite and Helba).  
  
Now! On to a very plot-helping chapter.  
  
Heartbeat  
  
"This field is so strange. Why does it look so....... broken?" Ryuoku pondered out loud.  
  
"This place was corrupted long ago by a terrible virus. Blackrose and I defeated it long ago, but the damage still remains.."  
  
"Oh. How sad. I apologize if I am sounding rude, but we must hurry to the dungeon. Tsukasa needs our help," Subaru noted.  
  
"Speaking of Tsukasa, why is he missing?" asked Kite.  
  
"Talk as we walk now," said Subaru. Then she began her tale.  
  
"Tsukasa and I had heard that a computer glitch was occurring at a certain field, on some server. When we reached the bottom floor of the dungeon, the walls melted away into nothingness. A horrible being grabbed Tsukasa."  
  
**FLASHBACK**  
  
"Tsukasa!"  
  
"Stop it! Put me down!"  
  
"Noooooo!"  
  
"Help Me! Please!"  
  
"What are you doing to him?!?"  
  
"SILENCE! THIS WAVEMASTER IS NECESSARY FOR MY PLAN. YOU ARE NOT. BE GONE WITH YOU AXEMAN!"  
  
"Nooooo!"  
  
"Stop it! This isn't right!'  
  
TERMINAL ONE.. GAME OVER.  
  
**PRESENT**  
  
"After my terminal went blank, part of my memory went with it. Basically, everything that might even give me a clue as to where Tsukasa was, is, or will be is gone. I can't even remember the surver.." Subaru finished her story, and Kite and Ryuoku were shocked.  
  
"You lost your memory? From a game? Oh my god! My mom bought me some psycho game! I'm gonna lose my memory and never get it back!" whined Ryuoku.  
  
"That just.. isn't normal."  
  
"No, it really isn't," said an oddly placed, deep voice.  
  
"Who is there?" asked Subaru, slightly worried that they might have a PC killer stalking them. No one answered her, but instead, two PCs stepped out of the shadows. One was a tall longarm, the other was a short wavemaster.  
  
"I'm Dain"  
  
"And I'm Tsukazi."  
  
"Did you two follow us?" asked Kite, slightly offended that someone could possibly follow him to a field.  
  
"Please, we're wasting time!" observed Subaru, "Let us just search the dungeon for Tsukasa."  
  
"Can you two do anything useful?" asked Kite, who had already grown a real great dislike of the twins.  
  
"Yah!" exclaimed Dain, " We've been perfecting a new thing that we call a double skill!"  
  
"It's when Dain and I combine an attack or skill for more damage!"  
  
"That's very creative, now let's go." Said Subaru, and started walking into the dungeon. The others hastily followed.  
  
In the first room of the stone dungeon, there were three separate paths.  
  
"Let's form three parties" suggested Kite, "Dain, Tsukazi, and Ryuoku, since your all low level, you'll go right, together. Subaru will go straight, and I'll go left. Any questions?"  
  
Dain raised his hand. "Are you some kind of military drill sergeant?"  
  
"I'm not even going to answer that." Said Kite, and they all went down there paths.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuoku was being greatly annoyed buy the twins fighting.  
  
"Spaghetti!"  
  
"Chicken Stir fry!"  
  
And so this argument continued, on what's for their dinner until Ryuoku was about to kill the pair. But then something appeared on their path. A small pool of blue virus data. It slowly multiplied, and took form, and the team was too busy fighting to realize it.  
  
* * *  
  
Meanwhile, Kite was having his own problem. A second pool of virus had appeared, and it took form of him. He lunged at the being, and was quickly blocked. He knew what he had to do. Without the ax, he had no choice.  
  
"RUUUUUN!" he screamed to no one, and ran off down the hall.  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru walked into a strange, plain whit room. Slowly, ever slowly, the never-ending white walls crumbled away. A strange machine that looked like it was meant to hold a person appeared in the black void that replaced the walls, and inside, was..  
  
"Tsukasa!" she cried, running towards him, as soon as she got even a little closer, the capsule seemed to drift slowly away. She heard a soft heartbeat as she ran, and it slowly grew louder. Louder, louder, ever louder it grew, until the source of the menacing beat finally appeared.  
  
It was hideous. A zombie, type boss, only, it wasn't a boss. It didn't look like anything she had ever seen.. But wait. It looked so familiar, as if lost, just out of reach in the fog, her memory of him was fuzzy.  
  
"Please help him," a voice echoed through the blackness. "Help the one who helped me.. Help the one who helped me awaken.."  
  
The voice faded away, and the strange creature let out a low, menacing growl. It flung something at her, something blue, and covered in 1's and 0's. It wrapped around her ankle, and dragged her down to the floor. Subaru screamed, but it went unanswered in the eternal nothingness.  
  
* * *  
  
"Awwww crap. Why do things like this happen in a game?" asked Dain, as a huge heard of strange, blue creatures started running towards him.  
  
"That's not normal, it's not supposed to be here," said Ryuoku, recognizing the familiar pattern of virus, "It's a virus. Stand back, I'm going to virus drain them."  
  
"Say what now?" asked Tsukazi, as he flipped through his handy little players guide in the real world, trying to find that skill.  
  
"It's not a normal skill, now just back up." He raised his ax, and hollered out; "VIRUS DRAIN!"  
  
The familiar strands of yellow wire absorbed one enemy, but there were hundreds more. If he wanted to survive, he'd have to run.  
  
"Kick ass! Where'd you get that skill? Can I learn it?" asked Dain, in stinging curiosity.  
  
"No time! Just run back to the entrance!" hollered Ryuoku.  
  
* * *  
  
At the entrance, they met up with Kite.  
  
"Where's Subaru?" asked Kite.  
  
"You mean she isn't back yet?" Ryuoku asked, looking down the path she went down.  
  
"No." He said flatly.  
  
"I'll go after her," said Ryuoku, and with that, he flew down the hall.  
  
When he found Subaru, she was in a normal dungeon room, but virus was in her eyes, her hair, her dress, everywhere. She was mumbling to herself, lying on the floor.  
  
"Subaru!"  
  
"Mm, Tsukasa. Uh."  
  
"Subaru! No!" He quickly took out his ax. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't drain this virus.  
  
"VIRUS DRAIN!" he hollered, and he hoped that this wouldn't effect Subaru herself..  
  
The yellow wires came, and went. Taking with them the lethal virus. Subaru slowly sat up.  
  
"It was.. It was all only.. Or was it." Subaru made no sense in what she said.  
  
"Are you all right Subaru? Your not hurt, are you?"  
  
"The one who is hurt." she started.  
  
"Yes? Go on."  
  
"The one who is hurt, It's Tsukasa!" Subaru broke into tears, and collapsed into Ryuoku's arms.  
  
"Why can't I find him? Why?" She managed to choke through tears. "I miss him so much. Please will you help me find him? Please.."  
  
"Subaru, I.."  
  
**END**  
  
Yah! Another chapter over. More reviews, and I might update quicker! Thanks, Katdrama, for reviewing. 


	5. Gunshot

Review! Ya!  
  
KatDrama: Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to double check. ^_^  
  
Gunshot  
  
Ryuoku stood in an endless black void. A young wavemaster was in some strange capsule. He took a step toward the figure, but stopped as a strange young girl appeared in his path.  
  
"Help him," she said in a strange echoing voice, "Help the one who helped me. The one who helped me awaken."  
  
At this point, a strange cat type creature appeared, floating behind the girl. Half his face was purple; the other was white with a purple star covering the eye. It wore strange clothes, as if something in "The World." He nodded his head as the girl began to speak again.  
  
"Listen to his words. He will help you to help him."  
  
Ryuoku took a step back from the girl, and was greatly confused. The cat nodded again, and knocked on the glass capsule containing the wavemaster. It quickly shattered.  
  
The body fell limp on the floor, and slowly rose to his feet.  
  
"Help me. Please. Lost!" He looked up, and opened his eyes as he finished what he had to say. His eyes were blue, and ones and zeros swam through them.  
  
A teenage boy sat up in bed. Shocked at the dream he had just had, and sweating like crazy. It was noon. He went over to his laptop, and put on "The World" headset. He entered his user name (Ryuoku) and logged in.  
  
**GAME**  
  
"Hey!" cried an oh too energetic voice. "It's me! Sharie!"  
  
She came running up to the Chaos Gate, her purple hair waving wildly. She had on her usual black metal bra, as usual for female heavyblades, and tight black jeans, with two metal thigh plates attached around her waist.  
  
"Did you see the message board?" she asked, and her voice wasn't heard only by Ryuoku. A blademaster, who was walking by, suddenly stopped in his tracks at the words, and walked slightly closer towards the pair.  
  
"There was a field with the virus spotted on it! This PC posted a message about an unbeatable blue monster! Doesn't that meet your virus description?"  
  
"Uh, yah, I guess."  
  
"So.. let's go! The Key words are-!" she was stopped as the wavemaster walked into view, saying exactly what the Key Words were.  
  
"Deep, Green, Maze."  
  
"What? Who the hell are you?" Sharie asked in a slightly pissed off mood. She didn't like being interrupted.  
  
"I'm sorry if I interrupted. I just knew the way there, and thought that I could go there with you two." He had short, flat hair, a black vest coat, deep blue short sleeve shirt, and blue kilt complete with brown boots.  
  
"Uh, why not? We might need some help," pointed out Ryuoku, "But do you know about this virus?"  
  
"Mm-Hm. My friend was infected by it, and know he's in a coma." Said the wavemaster, "Oh, and since we'll be going somewhere, my name's Kenshi."  
  
"Uh, if your sure Ryuoku, then I guess he should come."  
  
"He might prove an advantage when we get there!"  
  
"Yah! I'll be all the help I can!" Kenshi finished the conversation, and they were off.  
  
The field was a forest. It was in the design of a dungeon, yet it was only the field. The path was straight, and led directly to a maze.  
  
"What!?!?" exclaimed Sharie, "I thought this was an RPG! Why is there a maze?"  
  
"I don't really know, but we should hurry, before the virus has a chance to infect a PC, that wouldn't be too pretty," Ryuoku answered. Sharie sighed, and they went into the looming hedge maze.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey! My HP just went down a little bit!" exclaimed Sharie.  
  
"Yah, there are thorns on the walls, put there just to annoy players." Ryuoku answered, as he lost a little more HP brushing against a bush."  
  
Kenshi accidentally walked into a bush.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"Did you just say 'ow' Kenshi?" asked Sharie, Startled at the noise.  
  
"Uh, yah, I guess I did," he answered, looking very embarrassed, "I sometimes say that when my character gets hurt,"  
  
"He's a little strange, don't you think?" Sharie whispered to Kenshi.  
  
"I guess," he answered, but then he looked up, and gasped.  
  
In front of them was a giant statue. It looked like a giant dragon, lying curled atop a huge marble rock. It began to speak without moving its mouth.  
  
"Answer my riddle, and you may pass," it said in a deep, booming voice.  
  
"Uh, okay," Ryuoku answered, realizing that he really had no choice  
  
It began to tell the riddle; "The one who makes me, doesn't need me. The one who buys me, wishes he didn't have too. The one who uses me, doesn't know it. What am I?" "What?" asked Sharie, astonished; "Why is there a riddle in a game?"  
  
"I don't really know, but we have to figure it out, or we'll never get to defeat that virus." Ryuoku said.  
  
"Could it be something people don't like?"  
  
"I really don't know.."  
  
"Coffin,"  
  
The voice was so quiet, that Ryuoku barely heard it.  
  
"The answer is coffin. The one who builds it, is living, so doesn't need it. The one who buys it, is full of sorrow that they have to bury their loved one, and the one who uses it is dead, and doesn't know anything." Kenshi explained.  
  
"How did you know that?" asked Sharie, completely bewildered.  
  
"Riddles were one of the few things I'm good at in the real world," he responded.  
  
"Uh, guys?" said Ryuoku.  
  
"What?" they answered in unison.  
  
"The statue is opening," he finished.  
  
The statue in fact was opening, and, on the inside, was a coffin. The coffin slowly opened, and a Vampire Crawler emerged. A level 30 boss.  
  
"Whaaa!" they all screamed, and started to back up.  
  
"Do you guys need some help?" asked a voice from behind them. It was a female heavy axeman.  
  
She ran forward, and locked blades with the beast's long swords. The beast was powerful, but her axe spoke for itself. In a few quick swoops, the beast was done for. She had cut it clean in half.  
  
"Uh, thanks, I guess," said Ryuoku, finally getting a look at the girl. She looked sort of like an axeman, but yet, she had a strange look to her. She had a strapless dress that reached down to mid-thigh. Her high-heeled boots reached up to just above the knee. She had what would be gloves on, but they had no hands. They were just baggy pieces of fabric that reached from elbow, to wrist. Two pointy cat ears stuck out from a short mass of uncontrollably orange frizzy hair.  
  
"My names Cheetra, pleased to meet you!" the girl said. She walked up to Kenshi, and then turned around. She looked back at Ryuoku.  
  
"I could give each of you my member address, want it?"  
  
"Uh, sure," answered Ryuoku.  
  
"Okay," responded Sharie.  
  
"I guess..," said Kenshi.  
  
Behind Cheetra, something blue and strange crawled into the Vampire Crawler. It began to connect the two halves together, and then turned the creature blue. It got up, and pushed Cheetra out of its way.  
  
"Hey! What gives? Why is that thing still alive?" asked Cheetra, recovering from her fall.  
  
"It's infected!" exclaimed Sharie.  
  
"VIRUS DRAIN!" Ryuoku hollered. The yellow strands completely made the creature disappear.  
  
"What.. was that thing?" asked Cheetra, backing up from the scene where the virus monster had been, "And what happened to the field?"  
  
Ryuoku looked at the area where the monster had been drained. It was completely charred to black dust.  
  
"Um, I guess that happens to anything in the way of the drain. I'll have to be careful." Ryuoku said.  
  
"I just don't get it," Cheetra complained.  
  
"It's kind of a strange story," Ryuoku said; "Why don't we gate out and talk about it in town?"  
  
**REAL WORLD**  
  
A woman was running down a sidewalk that was soaked with rain, as was she. She was holding a briefcase with the CC Corp. logo on it over her head as an attempted shield.  
  
"I can't believe I found something like that on a game," she said to herself; "What kind of sick guy would do that to people? Why? I've got to take away Ryu's copy and destroy it when I get home. I won't let it effect him like that other child."  
  
She stopped in her tracks as a dark figure stepped out of an ally.  
  
"It's you..," she said.  
  
"You can not live. Not after what you discovered. My boss' secret can't get out. Not yet."  
  
"What are you talking-!" she stopped talking as the figure pulled out a gun.  
  
"You can not live, not after this."  
  
"Don't add murder to your list of crimes. Just put the gun down."  
  
"No. You've learned too much. Good bye, miss Hiyaki."  
  
The figure pulled the trigger. The woman collapsed on the ground after the gunshot. The figure put the gun away, and walked away.  
  
**END**  
  
Who was that woman? Why was she shot? Later chapters might have the answers, but don't forget to review, and I won't forget to right those later chapters. 


	6. Coma

Coma  
  
Kenshi stared out into the orange horizon. Cheetra sat next to him. They were on top of a small rock. Cheetra was the first to talk.  
  
"So.. your friend was grabbed by this virus?" she asked modestly.  
  
"Yah, he's trapped in "The World" now, and can feel everything, even pain, while his real self was sent hurdling into a coma. I hear that his condition is growing worse, and he might even die in the real world." Kenshi responded.  
  
"That's so sad," said Cheetra; "Do you... Do you think that this is why Ryuoku wants to stop that virus? Does he even know about this?"  
  
"Just barely,"  
  
"Do you think that you should tell him? Don't you think that this is important?"  
  
"Yah, I guess. But,"  
  
"But what?"  
  
"Don't you think this is important too?" He gave Cheetra a wry smile. She laid he head down on his shoulder, and they continued to stare at the horizon.  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru walked onto a small rock. She sat down on it and stared out into the sky.  
  
"We used to come here all the time," she said to herself; "So, why aren't you here now? Why are you missing?" she stood up. "Why were you taken? Why?"  
  
She walked over to the Chaos Gate, and gated out.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuoku logged in to Mac Anu. Sharie was standing there, right in front of him.  
  
"Sharie? Why are you here?" he asked.  
  
"I'm here to..."  
  
"To what?"  
  
"To show you the way. The way to him."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
The city walls began to break away into a black void as he said this. There was the familiar capsule with the familiar wavemaster in it. The girl appeared again.  
  
"Won't you please help him? Please?"  
  
The cat appeared, and knocked on the glass again. The wavemaster fell out. He slowly stood up.  
  
"Help me. Please. Stop the being. Please. Dark, Hopeless, Crystal. Listen to these things and go! Go before it's to late! Please!"  
  
He looked up, and the blue eyes glowed again.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuoku logged in. Upset that, once again, he'd had another dream about that wavemaster. But something caught his eye. It was Sharie, standing right in front of him. She looked distressed.  
  
"Sharie?" asked Ryuoku, almost cautiously.  
  
"Ryuoku?" she answered; "It's you. There's something wrong though."  
  
"What?"  
  
"See that group of PCs over there?"  
  
"Yah, what about them?"  
  
"Their friend went to a field about half an hour ago, and he hasn't come back, and he won't answer his phone either."  
  
"Could someone else be using the phone?"  
  
"No, he lives alone,"  
  
"How do you know all this stuff anyway?"  
  
"I just talked to them. They say that there worried."  
  
"Could he just be ignoring his phone? Or maybe the battles are tough, and he's to busy."  
  
"But Ryuoku, he's a level 50 player."  
  
"Your worried about that virus, aren't you?"  
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
"But why are you worried?"  
  
"Because he sent back an e-mail out of fear, telling about some blue virus."  
  
"What?!? No way!"  
  
"Yes way."  
  
"What are the Key Words?"  
  
"Dark, Hopeless, Crystal."  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru walked on to the Mac Anu bridge. She stroked her hand over a certain tile.  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
She walked over the Chaos Gate, and warped to "The World" prison. She walked inside, and, no surprise, there was no Tsukasa. She walked back, and gated out.  
  
* * *  
  
The Key words struck Ryuoku like a hammer.  
  
"Those are it?"  
  
"Yah," answered Sharie; "Let's go!"  
  
"Hold on. We're coming too,"  
  
Sharie and Ryuoku turned around, and saw Kenshi and Cheetra standing right behind them.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard him," said Cheetra; "We're coming too."  
  
"Are you guys sure? It might be dangerous," warned Sharie.  
  
"I don't care. That virus hurt my friend. I could never let it get away with that," said Kenshi.  
  
"Alright, let's go." Ryuoku finished the small talk, and they were on their way.  
  
It was a blue, stonewall dungeon. Ryuoku slowly made his way to the second room, the others closely behind. The second room was nothing but a narrow rock-way with shimmering pieces of crystal flung everywhere.  
  
"This is such a strange room," said Cheetra, admiring the crystal.  
  
"Well, get used to it. I'm going to leave you, and the others behind," said Ryuoku.  
  
"What?"  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
The others quickly shot out their responses, but Ryuoku had his mind made up. He couldn't risk there live by dragging them down into that horrible, virus-infested dungeon.  
  
"If your leaving us here, then why did you bother taking us?" asked Sharie.  
  
"I don't know, and I'm beginning to regret it," and with that, he started walking down the path, alone.  
  
"I'm not gonna take that!" said Sharie. "I mean, what's the point of having a game, if not for fun?"  
  
"Me neither," agreed Kenshi. "I'm going after him!"  
  
"I'll just wait here," said Cheetra.  
  
"Why?" asked Kenshi, looking slightly disappointed.  
  
"Because, there can only be three in a party, and you two both want to go, so; I won't deprive you the experience." She smiled, and Kenshi and Sharie quickly departed.  
  
* * *  
  
"Maybe I shouldn't have went alone," said Ryuoku to the air as he crashed his ax against the sword of a headhunter.  
  
"Your not alone!" cried Sharie as she jumped up to the beast and began swinging her huge sword wildly.  
  
"Yah, there's no way we'd let you have all the fun!" yelled Kenshi as he bashed his middle sized sword on the huge beast's foot. It slowly perished.  
  
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Ryuoku, who had never felt such a mix of relief, and anger before in his life.  
  
"Well," started Sharie; "It looks like we just saved your skin!"  
  
"Oh well," sighed Ryuoku; "Since you're here, you might as well come along. By the way, where's Cheetra?"  
  
"She decided to stay!" answered Kenshi.  
  
"Oh well, let's just-!" Ryuoku stopped in the middle of his words as a mock- cat player appeared.  
  
"So, you are going to help him then?" the cat's mouth moved, but no sound came out. Yet, somehow, Ryuoku understood him.  
  
"Yes, we're going to help!" answered Ryuoku.  
  
"Ryuoku, can you hear that thing?" asked Kenshi.  
  
"You mean you can't?"  
  
"No they can't hear me, just you." The cat put to curled up paws over his mouth, and spoke again; "But sadly, the entity you are trying to stop, is trying to stop you!"  
  
Ryuoku began a one-way conversation with the cat. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"You and your friends are now targets of this entity by entering this dungeon, and sadly, one friend has already been infected!"  
  
"Cheetra!?"  
  
"I can't say," it said, folding its arms over its chest, sitting cross- legged in thin-air; tail wagging. "My name is Macha, don't forget it. Don't forget it at all."  
  
"Tell me you face painted freak!"  
  
It waved goodbye, and slowly faded into the background as a pool of blue virus fell upon to the floor.  
  
It slowly took form of a menacing creature, over ten feet tall in height. It grew slowly bigger, and more massive and detailed. Flesh dripped off from the figure. It had many tentacles, and one reached out and slapped Kenshi into K.O. against a wall. It began moving, ever slowly, towards Ryuoku and Sharie.  
  
"Hurry!" cried Sharie; "Virus Drain it!"  
  
"I can't!" shot back Ryuoku as the thing grew closer. "I might hurt Kenshi!"  
  
The looming thing got taller, and more hideous.  
  
"Run into that room!" cried Ryuoku, pointing to the down stairs. They hastily ran as the looming thing got closer and closer to them.  
  
In the next room was a strange woman in white. She held out her staff, as her blonde quills of hair began to wave in the wind. Ryuoku was slowly lifted off the ground, and into the air, then finally disappearing into the air like Macha did.  
  
The creature blobbed into the room they were just in, and slowly melted onto the floor, turning the entire room white.  
  
* * *  
  
Kenshi sat quietly on the floor. Unconscious. He was badly bruised, and had scratches all over him. He didn't get a game over screen, like most people would. His short sword was adjacent from its case, lying uselessly on the floor.  
  
He was propped, back up against the wall, as he slowly shifted, and opened his eyes. He rolled over to his hands and knees, eyes watering.  
  
"It hurts," he said to no one; " It hurts so much," he finished, clutching his cheek. A tear slowly dripped down off his face, and onto the floor. The tear separated into a bunch of sparkling droplets when it hit the ground.  
  
The sparkles turned into crystal shards, in the ground that Cheetra was still sitting on. She too was leaning against a wall, but in this case, a pillar. She looked up at the doorway down to the dungeon when she heard footsteps. They belonged to Kenshi.  
  
They stood, and sat there for a while staring at each other. Cheetra view was obscured by the darkness. Kenshi slowly made his way out into the light, where Cheetra finally got a good look at him.  
  
"Oh my god, Kenshi!" she cried, running towards him; "Are you alright? I didn't know that a PC could get like that!"  
  
"Did you, wait for me?" asked Kenshi.  
  
"Of course I did," responded Cheetra.  
  
"The one in the coma," started Kenshi.  
  
"Yes?" said Cheetra, surprised at the topic; "Please continue."  
  
"The one in the coma, it was me!" he cried, and collapsed into her arms, sobbing from pain. Cheetra dropped her axe in surprise. She slowly embraced him. * * *  
  
Subaru stared out into the open space, sitting on a familiar rock.  
  
"Where are you, Tsukasa?" she broke into tears, and laid her head down on her knees. "Why can't I find you?" she choked through tears. * * *  
  
Kenshi was still in Cheetra's arms.  
  
"Does.. does it hurt?" she asked sincerely.  
  
"Please, don't say anything. All of my life, I just wanted to be normal. But I always seemed to be the target for bullies, and other misfortunes. Please just keep this a secret. Just for a little while." He began sobbing again.  
  
"But, you know we have to tell someone eventually, right?"  
  
"Yes, but, just not now. Please."  
  
"Alright. Just for now."  
  
**REAL WORLD**  
  
A patient was struggling to breath under a life support system. He was on a hospital bed, in a coma.  
  
Doctors talked about his condition. One shook his head in sorrow. The others nodded agreement. They closed the door.  
  
On the heart monitor, something was happening. It slowly went down, from sixty to fifty-eight. And it didn't stop.  
  
**END**  
  
Whoa! Kenshi is the on in the coma! Didn't see that one coming. Actually, yes I did. But enough of that. Just don't forget to review, and I won't forget to constantly update. 


	7. Remembrance

Reviews!  
  
KatDrama: Alright, you caught me. I did get the idea for that part from that episode. I just thought it would fit for it. (  
  
Remembrance  
  
Ryuoku slowly drifted down to the ground in Mac Anu. He tried to remember what happened. It slowly came back to him. He remembered running down a dark cave with Sharie, meeting a woman in white, and just barely escaping that virus creature.  
  
"Is that how you plan to defeat the virus?" the voice disturbed Ryuoku's thoughts. The woman who got him out of that dungeon was talking to him.  
  
"You know about the virus?" asked Ryuoku.  
  
"I know about many virus's. But the one you're after? I only know a little bit." She paused, and looked at Ryuoku's axe.  
  
"It seems that you already have the item useful for draining the virus."  
  
"Wait a second, just who are you?" asked Ryuoku; astounded that anyone could know about this virus.  
  
"Down to business then?" she half asked, half told Ryuoku; "My name is Helba, and I was in that dungeon looking for you, mister Ryuoku."  
  
"Looking for me? But why?" asked Ryuoku, completely surprised.  
  
"Because Ryuoku, I believe that Aura has been contacting you."  
  
* * *  
  
A mysterious girl sat on a small rock on a desert field. She was in her early teens, and seemed deeply troubled. She stared deep into the sparkling lake in front of her.  
  
"What was I doing?" she asked herself; "Why am I here?"  
  
"Hey there!" cried a friendly voice; "Wanna go on a dungeon adventure?" She was a female wavemaster, and was just looking forward to having fun. She took a step towards the girl.  
  
"What's your character class? I've never seen a class without a weapon before." She took another step.  
  
"Don't come any closer!" cried the black haired girl. Her bangs started to wave threateningly.  
  
"Why not? What's wrong?" she asked coming a little closer.  
  
"I warned you!" she cried. Her hair started to wave and flail wildly, pillars of sand and rocks began flying wildly around her in a strange, yet organized pattern. In the eye of the mini storm, the black haired girl looked straight up, and opened her mouth. A stream of blue virus came out of her mouth, and eyes. It went straight up, right into the sky of the world. The virus spun around, and started heading straight towards the poor wavemaster.  
  
She started to run, but by the time she realized to leave, it was too late. The virus surrounded the poor girl, and slowly started filing into her agape mouth. When the entire virus had infiltrated her system, she too began to glow blue, and her skin was swimming with one's and zero's. She screamed.  
  
"Why does this hurt? Why? It hurts so much! Make it stop! Please! If this is a game, then why does this hurt? There's so much pain!" The wavemaster began to cry, and as tears surrounded her, the glowing stopped.  
  
The wavemaster dropped to the ground, and her body turned black and white. A small pool of virus crawled out of her lifeless lips. She would eventually awaken, but not outside of the game. The virus had infected her, and her real self would soon wither away into nothing.  
  
All the black haired girl heard was a soft thud as the girl's body hit the ground. The virus had stopped, and eventually, so did the dust tornados. The black haired girl collapsed on the rock, and was warped out of the field, somehow.  
  
* * *  
  
"What? Aura? Who's she?" asked Ryuoku, puzzled at the name.  
  
"You don't know? Do you recall anything about a little girl with a lot of pink hair?" Helba asked, sounding disappointed.  
  
"Am I supposed to?" asked Ryuoku.  
  
"No, I guess not," she responded; "Hm, I just received an e-mail involving an important matter. I'll talk to you later." Helba walked towards the Chaos Gate, and warped in a swarm of yellow rings.  
  
"What was that about?" asked Sharie from behind.  
  
Suddenly, something flashed in Ryuoku's mind. He remembered the girl. The girl from his dream. She had a mass of pink hair just like Aura's description.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuoku looked at his computer screen. He had a new E-mail. He clicked on it. As it opened, a picture of Macha appeared as the sender.  
  
"No," he said to himself.  
  
All that was written on the mail were Key Words, and a warning. They were Single, Lost, Soul, and the warning was to come alone.  
  
Ryuoku warped to that field as quick as he could.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuoku didn't take any friends, as the e-mail said. It was a single room dungeon. Macha slowly materialized in the middle of the dungeon.  
  
"You did come alone! That's one piece of happy news, for me at least." Said the cat.  
  
"Yah, I guess I did." Sighed Ryuoku.  
  
"But now for the bad news. For you at least."  
  
"What are you talking about? Well cat?"  
  
"I have a name you know."  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"So, I guess I'm not important to you then. I guess you don't want my news."  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Ya know, that hurt."  
  
"Like I care!"  
  
"Fine! To get even with you, I will tell you the news!"  
  
"Well, what is it?"  
  
"Alright now, brace yourself," Macha cracked his knuckles, which, of course, made absolutely no sound.  
  
"Your mother," he started.  
  
"What about my mother?" asked Ryuoku, starting to get worried.  
  
"Your mother was shot, two nights ago today," said the cat smiling.  
  
* * *  
  
Sharie was in a dark forest of field. She had heard that a strange girl appeared here every now and then. She was searching for this girl.  
  
She was about to give up in her search, when she saw her. A black haired girl. She was in her early teens.  
  
"Why can't I remember?" she said.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Sharie.  
  
"Don't come any closer," warned the black haired girl.  
  
* * *  
  
"No.. NO!" cried Ryuoku, and, without logging out, ran to the phone in his house. He should have known something was up when his mom wasn't home today. This was her day off. The only one she gets a month.  
  
"Hospital, how can I help you?" asked a dry scratchy voice from the receiver.  
  
"Yes, could you please check if a patient named Shaikya Hiyaki checked in? And if she is, could you tell me why she's in there?" asked Ryuoku frantically. But then realized that he was being stupid. Of course she wouldn't be there. She's not checked in. There's no possible way that-  
  
"Shaikya Hiyaki is checked in," said the scratchy voice; "She was shot in the gut two days ago."  
  
Ryuoku hung up the phone, and dropped to the floor. He walked over to the computer.  
  
"Good your back, Ryuoku!" cried Macha, clapping his hands in joy.  
  
"My name is Ryu." He said; "Don't expect to see me again. I'm through with the world. Let the virus eat it away. I give up."  
  
He dropped the axe, and shut down his computer without saving.  
  
"But..," started Macha, completely upset. "You were supposed to help. I thought if I told you that your mom was shot, then you would be more obsessed with stopping the virus..,"  
  
Macha's ears dropped down in sorrow. His tail fell straight down, and his eyes began to water. He knew now, that without Ryuoku, not only this game was doomed, but so was the real world.  
  
**END**  
  
Yup, Ryuoku's mom was the one who was shot in chapter five. But, is he done with the world forever? Is Sharie going to be infected by the virus? Only I know, and, if you review, I'll update quicker. 


	8. Emotions

Review!  
  
KatDrama: I like the theme they play for that episode! Why did Macha know? Maybe you'll know in this chapter!  
  
Emotions  
  
It was a hot summer day. Ryu sat on the back porch of his small apartment, and stared out into the bustling city in Japan.  
  
**FLASHBACK**  
  
"Your mother was shot, two nights ago today," said the cat smiling.  
  
**PRESENT**  
  
"She was..," he started saying.  
  
**FLASHBACK**  
  
"Hospital, how can I help you?" asked a dry scratchy voice from the receiver.  
  
"Yes, could you please check if a patient named Shaikya Hiyaki checked in? And if she is, could you tell me why she's in there?" asked Ryuoku frantically. But then realized that he was being stupid. Of course she wouldn't be there. She's not checked in. There's no possible way that-  
  
"Shaikya Hiyaki is checked in," said the scratchy voice; "She was shot in the gut two days ago."  
  
**PRESENT**  
  
"..Gone," he said.  
  
He slowly got up, and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.  
  
**GAME**  
  
Subaru stood alone in the small boat that was slowly making its way down the river of Mac Anu. She remembered back to the days of the crimson knights. That was so long ago. How she'd changed since then..  
  
"What's this? Mail?" she asked herself.  
  
She clicked over to her desktop, and saw that she had one new mail. She opened it. It was subject-less.  
  
It read; "He has been spotted, only briefly; but he has been spotted. Warped, Twisted, Icicle. Go quickly." It was signed with..  
  
"Helba!" Subaru said to herself. She jumped off the boat before it had even reached the dock. She ran to the Chaos Gate, and warped in a flash to the field.  
  
* * *  
  
The front door clicked softly, as someone entered his house. Ryu heard the click from his room, and through the closed door. He had trained himself to hear things like that, in all hours of the night, in case his mom came home before he was asleep. She always closed it softly, so as not to wake him, but Ryu woke up with it anyway. And of someone wanted to close a door that softly, then they must not want to be heard.  
  
He quietly crept over to the porch door, and opened it softly. He walked out side, and saw one thing, a black mini van that did not belong there. The thing that puzzled Ryu the most was that there was a CC Corp. logo on the side of it.  
  
CC Corp! Wasn't that the company his mother worked for? They might be here to talk to him! Ryu walked over to the door and was about to open it, when he heard something that made him freeze in horror.  
  
It was a deep voice. One that reminded Ryu of a horror movie villain. He heard him say, "Come on out, little Hiyaki, don't you want to join your mother?" he asked sinisterly, and then laughed as he prepared a gun to fire a new bullet. One that he planned would taste the warm flesh of a new victim, soon, oh so very soon.  
  
Ryu slumped down to the floor. He was horrified. An intruder was in his house, one that wanted him to die.  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru stood in the icy one-room tavern of a dungeon. It was empty, but yet still menacing. She took a step forward.  
  
Macha watched Subaru from the entrance of the dungeon. He hoped that she could defeat the virus segment here. It wasn't the same as the viruses before. This one couldn't be Virus Drained. It had to be beaten in it's own game, one that could emotionally tare someone apart and send them into a state of mental illness just by toying with their emotions.  
  
The being slowly appeared in front of her. Macha and Subaru gasped at the same time. It took form of Tsukasa. Macha now knew that the battle had really begun.  
  
* * *  
  
Sharie walked into the dark clearing of the forest.  
  
"Don't come any closer." The dark haired girl warned again. This time, there was a more serious tone in her voice. Her hair started waving wildly.  
  
Sharie started to take the threat more seriously now. This girl might have some connection with the virus.  
  
"Don't worry! I'm not here to cause you any harm at all!" Sharie said, hoping that her voice was as sincere as she meant it to be.  
  
"What?" asked the girl. Her hair stopped waving.  
  
"I'm not a threat," Sharie continued.  
  
"Bring a person here, and prove it. Those who travel alone mean harm to me." The girl said. She put her head back on her knees.  
  
"I'll bring Ryuoku!" Sharie said thoughtfully. And she sent him a mail as soon as she could.  
  
* * *  
  
"Here little Hiyaki, I have a present for you!" cried the intruder. Picking the lock of the door had been easy. All he had to do was exterminate Shaikya's son, and he'd be getting that huge raise. Now if he could just find the kid..  
  
He heard a soft beep, just down the short hall, coming from what was obviously the brat's room.  
  
"Gotcha!" he whispered to himself. He slowly walked towards the looming entrance. This was it. This was his big cut. Finally, he would be able to afford that car he wanted. Only a little longer now. Just a little bit more.  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru stared. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it. Standing in front of her was..  
  
"Tsukasa?" asked Subaru, as she cautiously took a step towards him.  
  
"Go away!" cried Tsukasa.  
  
"What?" asked Subaru, taken back at what he just said. Macha his face in his paws.  
  
"I said, go away!" he said again.  
  
"No. You don't mean that," Subaru wanted to believe her own words. Oh how she wanted to.  
  
"I do. You are nothing to me!" Tsukasa cried.  
  
"What? Why? What are you saying?!" cried Subaru. She couldn't stand this. She must be imagining things.  
  
"You don't even care!" Tsukasa's torment was relentless.  
  
"Yes I do! I searched so tirelessly for you! Please, don't do this. Please!" Subaru was exasperated. How could he? How could he say these things?  
  
"Then why didn't you find me?"  
  
Subaru stared blankly at Tsukasa. He gave an evil smirk.  
  
"No. NOOOOO!" Subaru tossed her head up in the air. She clamped her hands around the back of her head, and used her forearm to block out Tsukasa's torture.  
  
"You don't care about me-,"  
  
"Please!" she cried, "Stop this!"  
  
"And I hate you. I completely hate you. You didn't even try to find me!"  
  
"Yes I did! I searched so tirelessly! Why are you doing this? Why!?" Subaru began to cry.  
  
"Shut up. Just shut up! You're a worthless piece of trash!"  
  
"Tsukasa," she sobbed, "Why?" She surrendered to her weak knees, and dropped down onto them.  
  
Macha pulled his hat over his ears.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryu knew that the familiar beep of mail spelled death for him. Even as he watched Sharie's familiar face pop up on the mail, she might as well have been death himself staring lifelessly at him.  
  
He ran behind his door as it slowly opened. As soon as the intruder stuck the gun in, he slammed the door on his hand.  
  
"Son of a-!" he stopped as he realized what he had done. He dropped the gun to the floor when he felt the pain, and now, the target, had become the assassin.  
  
Ryu held the gun at the guy's head. "Leave my house!" he commanded.  
  
"All-alright. Just don't pull that trigger!" He slowly backed out of the house, and ran down to his van.  
  
Ryu heard a screech of tires, and the CC Corp. van was gone.  
  
* * *  
  
Tsukasa laughed as Subaru struggled to interpret what he had said, but to his surprise, she stood up.  
  
"Stop this nonsense!" She demanded.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I won't take this!"  
  
"N-No,"  
  
"Your not even Tsukasa!"  
  
"Wha-What!?!? Of course I am!"  
  
"No! And I don't like imposters!"  
  
"B-but!"  
  
"You have said enough! Discontinue the words you speak, or I will be forced to use force!" She threatened, raising her axe to above her head.  
  
"No," said a voice, that was obviously not Tsukasa's, "No one has ever been able to survive this. No one!"  
  
"Well, virus, I guess you just met your match!"  
  
The false Tsukasa turned blue, and then to virtual ash.  
  
"I will find you one day, Tsukasa."  
  
Macha smiled, then faded away into the air.  
  
Subaru marched out of the dungeon, and left the dungeon.  
  
**END**  
  
I thought Subaru was being left out, so I gave her her own chapter! I might do this with other characters too. Don't forget to review, and I won't forget to update! 


	9. Darkness

Thanks again for all reviews! Sorry, I don't have time to address thank yous properly.  
  
Darkness  
  
Ryu stared at his computer.  
  
Should I log back in? he thought. To try and find out why that goon was after me? Could the answer be what my mother found? Maybe it's about that virus.  
  
Ryu slid back in his bed, and flicked on his TV set. He thought more about it.  
  
Maybe I- Before he could even finish his thought, the dull drone of the newscaster's voice had put Ryu out; into a dark sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ugh!" cried Sharie in frustration, "What's going on? He's never late like this! It's so not like him."  
  
Sharie was still standing in the middle of the dark forest. She had been trying to contact Ryuoku for the past hour. He hadn't even given a response.  
  
Maybe something's wrong? Maybe, by some freak accident, he was infected by the virus? Her thoughts changed from worried to annoyed. Or he could just be being an ass.  
  
She chanced a glance at the mysterious girl, and warped off the field; feeling utterly defeated.  
  
* * *  
  
Dain ran through the deserted rocky field. Sweat dripped down off of his forehead.  
  
Whoever's chasing me is just trying to piss me off. His thoughts turned into a blinding rage.  
  
"And it worked!" he bellowed, as he turned to wait for the coming attacker. He readied his spear, and waited.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryu was in "The World." Only, he was in that place again. The place where he had met that weird little girl, the wavemaster, and Macha.  
  
"Wait a second," he thought as the glimmering glass test tube in front of him sparkled.  
  
**FLASHBACK**  
  
Helba sighed, "I believe that you have been in contact with a young girl named Aura."  
  
"Aura? Am I supposed to know her?" asked Ryuoku puzzled.  
  
**PRESENT**  
  
"I did know her. A girl with a mass of hair; it's her," gasped Ryuoku.  
  
"Now you know who I am," the girl said, stepping into view, "But now I must meet you in person,"  
  
"Wha-?" choked Ryuoku.  
  
"I must se you in "The World," Aura said with more strictness in her voice.  
  
"Uh, okay?"  
  
"Please listen," she started to explain, "You need to reach me at the place where I was asleep. Go to Ominous, Scorching, Sea of Sand. Touch the wall directly behind the got statue,"  
  
The chamber with the wavemaster in it bubbled, and Ryuoku thought that he heard the word, 'eternal.'  
  
Ryu shot up in bed. He stared at his laptop. He knew what he had to do.  
  
* * *  
  
"Yoink!" cried the oh too happy face of Zeph, the male heavyblade, "Chasing pray is so much fun!"  
  
He jumped to another rock, and laughed as he saw the running figure of the young longarm he was chasing.  
  
"Chasing down these losers and getting their money is just too much fun!" He laughed as he drew his nimble sword. Quite a find, a weapon for all classes, the let even a heavyblade run faster then any other class!  
  
"And if he doesn't cooperate, then; Ziyoink!" here he moved his sword swiftly just away from his neck; "He'll be dead before he knows what's what. But even if he does cooperate, it's still a death sentence for our poor defendant!"  
  
"And it worked!" The cry of his soon to be victim startled Zeph so much that he nearly fell off of the rock he was standing on. He looked down, and saw that his prey had stopped.  
  
Just jump a few more rocks, and you'll be able to jump down on him! His mind told him.  
  
"Works for me," he lipped, and then started jumping to the next rock.  
  
Shwish! Zeph watched his HP go down before he even realized what had happened. The brat's spear had gotten a hit on him, taken out a chunk of his HP, and sent him hurtling to the ground.  
  
"Stupid mind. No wonder I stopped listening to you!"  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru sat on the edge of the walkway for travelers in Mac Anu. This spot was just a common walkway for other players, but to her it was much more. This spot, was where she first laid eyes on Tsukasa.  
  
Back then, she probably couldn't have cared less about a wavemaster in the game, but she was changed since then.  
  
She remembered when Silver Knight had laid his eyes on him. He was a criminal back then; or so everyone thought. Ah, good times.  
  
She watched the water swim in front of her. A virtual fish seemed to almost be beaming at her.  
  
"Maybe," she started, "Aura would, be able to help. I should, ask her, or at least attempt to. Huh?"  
  
Subaru noticed Ryuoku warping out using the town gate.  
  
"Maybe, he knows? I shall follow him." With that, she pushed herself off the ground with her axe, and arrived just in time to hear his words before he vanished in a swarm of yellow rings.  
  
"Ominous, Scorching, Sea of Sand? Why does that sound so familiar......?" Subaru questioned, and warped to the desert field.  
  
* * *  
  
His arm acted before he had made any logical sense out of what was jumping.  
  
No time to think, just aim. This could be your attacker.  
  
The spear went hurtling through the air, and struck the creeps side. He heard a gasp, dodged the falling heavyblade, and made a grab for his spear; which he caught neatly.  
  
"Would you mind telling me who you think you are?" growled Dain, "I'm not some low level twit that you can just chase around, now talk!" The goon seemed more happy then shocked. "What are you-!"  
  
The freak had managed to scramble to his feet, and lock Dain in a hold, before he could even react.  
  
"Your money please!"  
  
"What? How'd you-?" Dain stopped when he saw him wave a long, rod- like sword in his face.  
  
"This," the goon answered in glee, then he got more serious. "Your answer?"  
  
"You're going to kill me any way, so,"  
  
"Oh! Your good! Now then, will you give me your money? Or your data?"  
  
Dain struggled to get free, but failed miserably. "Never will you get my-!"  
  
His throat was slit, and his character hit the ground.  
  
* * *  
  
"Subaru? Why are you following me?" asked Ryuoku, slightly frustrated.  
  
The girl blushed. "You noticed then?"  
  
"Let's just say that sneaking around isn't your forte. Now, why are you here exactly?" asked a puzzled Ryuoku.  
  
"I was just seeing if you knew who Aura was." Subaru looked at her feet, and already knew the answer. It was-  
  
"Yes, I do actually."  
  
The young Subaru looked surprised. "Really?"  
  
"Yea, you might as well come along." With that, Ryuoku walked down into the dungeon, and out of the scorching oven that was the desert.  
  
* * *  
  
"Huh? Mail for me?" Sharie was back in the highland city. "Whoa, he actually answered! It's from Ryuoku!"  
  
The letter told Sharie that he got her mail, and would meet her in Mac Anu the next morning at 10:30.  
  
"Works for me!" exclaimed Sharie, and she logged out for the day. That girl would probably give her nightmares though.  
  
* * *  
  
"Wow. What a place!" gasped Ryuoku.  
  
Subaru stared at the familiar bed, and knew at once that this was Aura's old home. A rustle in bushes behind them, as Aura came out into view.  
  
"Nice to see you again, Subaru, and nice to meet you in person, Ryuoku." Her words were a whisper, as ever, but her voice echoed, like always.  
  
"You're, Aura. Aren't you?" asked Ryuoku.  
  
"Please, kind Aura, I need to ask you if-?" started Subaru, and Aura finished.  
  
"If I know where Tsukasa is? No. In truth, I don't. But the answer, is somewhere inside of that boy," said Aura, pointing at Ryuoku.  
  
"Tsukasa has been generating dreams for you to find him, and you now hold two parts to the finale keywords to generate Tsukasa's field." Aura's calm details suddenly grew grave.  
  
"What is it?" asked a concerned Subaru.  
  
"You have five minutes to escape before the virus storm comes."  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuoku stared in horror at the girl.  
  
"V-Virus storm?" he managed to choke out.  
  
"Yes," said Aura, hastening her words, "A lethal storm that could easily infect you and Subaru. Please leave now!"  
  
"But," gasped Subaru, "How do we find Tsukasa?!?"  
  
"There is no time! You must go. I will tell you again, later! Now go!" shouted Aura, and Ryuoku's feet slowly left the ground, as his terminal went black.  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru stared out into the vast blueness of the ocean of the field she woke up on. Ryuoku was gone, but that didn't matter. If this continued then-  
  
"I'll never find him. Maybe this is all useless. I don't know how much more of this I can take."  
  
She began to sob, and rested her head on her knees, hoping only for Tsukasa.  
  
**END**  
  
Don't forget to review on your way out! Thank you! 


	10. Sorrow

Thanks for the reviews! Sorry I took so long, but I've been a little busy lately.  
  
Sorrow  
  
"Can you believe it?" asked a very enraged Dain.  
  
"No," his brother Tsukazi said flatly. It was a change in things, really. It was usually him that something like this would happen to. Now that it happened to his brother, mister 'No Body's Gonna Get Me!' , had finally gotten jumped, it was a little funny.  
  
"I mean, what kind of scum steals peoples hard earned money?" he demanded.  
  
"Did he...,"  
  
"Did he what? Don't stop in the middle of a sentence, then no one will hear your ideas! Speak your mind, and stand up for yourself!" Dain told him.  
  
Just another one of your lessons, eh bro? he thought.  
  
"Did he leave his member address?"  
  
"Why? Do you want to know who he is? Are you in cahoots with a criminal organization? Are ya? Are ya? Huh?" demanded Dain in stinging curiosity.  
  
"No! Don't get so mad! I just wanted to know if he left his member address behind or not."  
  
"I'll check...!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"That little scum bucket! He did!"  
  
"Well, what's the name?"  
  
"Zep? Zeep? How in the hell am I supposed to pronounce it?"  
  
"Zeph? The infamous money stealer?"  
  
"You know him?!!?"  
  
"No! He's just wanted really bad! If we could turn him in, then we'd get an award!"  
  
"An award?"  
  
"Yah! It could be anything from rare items, to money, invincible armor, or maybe even free exp.!"  
  
Dain's mouth watered at the mention of free experience points. He was practically dragging his brother to the field where he met him.  
  
They ran to the gate, and the highland city of Dun Looirag disappeared behind them.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuoku met Sharie in the center of Mac Anu.  
  
"So," she started, "Are you ready to meet that girl I told you about?"  
  
"Sure," he stated. They started walking to the gate, when he stopped in surprise. From the look on Sharie's face, she got it too.  
  
It was a mail from CC Corp. It read;  
  
Attention all players. Be on the lookout for a dark haired girl! She is reported dangerous and carrying a very illegal virus that might scramble your data.  
  
= = = = = = = = = =Signed= = = = = = =  
= = = =CC Corp. Management=  
  
"Could it be her?" asked Ryuoku.  
  
"She did have black hair...!" Sharie told him.  
  
"We have got to go now!"  
  
They ran over to the gate of the city, and warped to the field.  
  
* * *  
  
"'Dear Subaru. Please inform the following players of the current situation of Tsukasa and yourself via flash mail. Please do this with haste, for there is not much time left before the virus strikes again. Tsukazi, Dain, Cheetra, and Kenshi. Please include in the mail the key words lost deep forest, and tell them I'll meet them all right where they gates in. Thanks in advance, Ryuoku."  
  
Subaru read the mail again, and made sure it said what she thought it did. She quickly did as she was told, and then did something that Ryuoku forgot to warn against. She went to the forest herself.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, Ryuoku, what are ya waiting for?" asked Sharie. The forest they were in gave her the creeps, and she couldn't wait to finish what they were doing there.  
  
"The others." he said flatly.  
  
"The...others?" she asked, completely confused.  
  
* * *  
  
"Are you sure he's here?" asked Tsukazi.  
  
"Just wait," said Dain. I know you're here. Now show yourself! he thought.  
  
"Shl-oing!"  
  
"It starts." Dain said.  
  
"Wha?!" Tsukazi looked up, and gasped as he saw a figure jumping from mushroom to mushroom. "It's just not...not possible! He's a Heavyblade! They can't jump like that!"  
  
"His sword," said his brother, "Take it from him!"  
  
"HIIIII!" cried Zeph as he fell from a rock and landed within inches to Dain.  
  
They were automatically locked in fight. Zeph had the upper edge, and was obviously stronger.  
  
"Hit-him-with-Rai-Rom!" choked his brother.  
  
"O-okay! Rai-! NOOOOO!" Tsukazi looked up, and saw the blue mass. The same one that surprised him in the dungeon adventure he had with Ryuoku. "Bro! Look out!"  
  
Zeph took better notice then his Dain, as he leaped out of the way just in time. But-  
  
"DAAAAIN!!!" cried his brother, as virus poured itself over Dain.  
  
He glowed blue, and screamed. A scream that his brother heard right next to him. In the real world.  
  
Dain in the game slowly disappeared. gone from "The World" forever.  
  
Tsukazi heard a crash in the real world.  
  
**REAL WORLD**  
  
"Bro! No! Come on! Get up!"  
  
There was only silence.  
  
"Come on! Please! Hit me! Tease me!"  
  
Again only silence.  
  
Tsukazi put his hand up to his brother's nose, and noticed that he wasn't breathing. He felt for a pulse-  
  
"What are you doing you little scum! You killed your brother! you worthless scum!"  
  
Tsukazi had all he could take of this. "Dad! Ever since mom died, you have been wrong in everything you've ever done to me! Ignoring birthdays, giving Dain everything he ever wanted while I had to buy my own food and mini stove!"  
  
"Max I..."  
  
"Shove it old man! Right now Dain is in critical condition and might, no, will die if you don't call an ambulance! Now, You take care of this, I need to settle a score!"  
  
"What, in a game!?!?"  
  
Max glared at him. "It's necessary! You wasting time by not calling an ambulance isn't!"  
  
**GAME**  
  
"Mail," said Tsukazi. In frenzy, he clicked it open. "So that's why...!"  
  
He ran to the gate, and warped to the field where Subaru had mentioned.  
  
* * *  
  
"I knew you'd show up, Tsukazi!" said Ryuoku, "Now that we're all here,"  
  
"No, now we are all here!" exclaimed a voice the Ryuoku knew shouldn't have shown up.  
  
"Subaru! Why are you here?" asked Sharie.  
  
"I'm here... to save Tsukasa!"  
  
"Ugh. Well, let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
The girl knelt by a river. Sharie said that she hadn't moved.  
  
"Is that her?" asked Ryuoku.  
  
"Yea," she responded absently.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
Sharie gasped. It was the girl who had talked.  
  
"Ryuoku," he announced, "And this is Cheetra, Sharie, Kenshi, Tsukazi, Subaru, and Da-!"  
  
He turned around and counted. One short. Dain wasn't there.  
  
"Where's Dain!?" he demanded.  
  
Tsukazi stared at his feet. "The virus..."  
  
"It only put him in a coma. We can save him!" said Ryuoku.  
  
"Ryuoku," he started, "He had no pulse!"  
  
Everyone gasped. Some stared in horror at nothing. Each even had something they blurted out.  
  
"The virus... even leaked out of his mouth in the real world!" cried Tsukazi.  
  
"Virus." said the girl. She had tangled black hair, and black, cold eyes. She wore rags of a sleeveless dress, and had strange bracelets on each wrist. Each had a strange cloth with Japanese inscriptions in them.  
  
"What?" asked Ryuoku.  
  
"The virus was created by a man named Varuchio Zespugo. He lives in Japan and works for CC Corp. I can't...remember anymore." The Girl obviously knew a lot. But before Ryuoku could ask her how, the ground below him disappeared, and he was falling.  
  
"What is this!?" he screamed as he fell. It was as if he actually was falling. He remembered what Kenshi said about feeling. "Everyone log out!"  
  
"I can't even shut down my computer!" cried Cheetra.  
  
He didn't even listen to what the rest said. He knew the answer. He tried to reach for his computer, and grabbed air. He tried to pull off the game goggles he wore, and poked himself in the eye. He was part of the world now, as were the others. He couldn't log out here, and neither could the rest. They were trapped.  
  
**END**  
  
Please be sure to review! Thanks for reading! 


	11. Desert

Thanks for all reviews! New people read the story! Yeah!  
  
Desert  
  
Sharie was falling. That was all she needed to know. And that she couldn't log out. She was truly freefalling into a seemingly never-ending black void. Sharie could feel the breath being swept out of her. It was a scary feeling. One that made her know that this wasn't just a game anymore. She had become truly involved, and there was no turning back.  
  
The darkness stopped, and Sharie felt blaring heat blast on her.  
  
"But how? This is just a game!" she cried to no one. The others weren't falling with her anymore. She was alone, and hurtling toward a sand dune.  
  
* * *  
  
Tsukazi sat up and rubbed his head.  
  
"Where am I?" He asked himself.  
  
Tsukazi had landed in a tropical rain forest. Steam rose into the unseen sky.  
  
"This sucks," he whispered, and then stood up.  
  
* * *  
  
Kenshi thought he'd been walking for hours. He had landed on an ocean cliff. Salt stung his eyes as waves crashed into the rocks. He wasn't too high off the ground, but, nether the less, he was off the ground, and he hated heights.  
  
"I wonder where the others are?" he said to himself. "Maybe they just logged out when the ground opened up like that."  
  
* * *  
  
Varuchio stared at the center screen of his otherwise empty control room. It was made out of seven different TVs stacked together. Each one was live footage from each of the accursed kids who we're trying to shut down his virus plan.  
  
I won't let them! he thought. I'll destroy each of them with their greatest fear.  
  
"DAMN IT! WHY THE HELL ARE THEIR MONSTERS ON A FIELD THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST!?"  
  
The loud cry of the female heavy blade disturbed his thoughts.  
  
They are there, little obnoxious one, so that I can destroy your friends while your busy! he thought.  
  
"Wait a second..." Varuchio pulled out a virtual guide that held every bit of information that the players sent to CC Corp. "Ah, Crystal Rachiyama. AKA, Sharie. Why don't we start with you?"  
  
He threw the book down, and pulled a switch.  
  
* * *  
  
"Finally! Civilization!" Sharie had been wondering the desert for a good half hour, and was completely drained. She needed a drink. And badly.  
  
The closer she ran to the city gleaming in the desert sun, the more she wished she hadn't. When she finally reached the city, she saw what it really was. A huge pile of-  
  
"Shit." She whispered to herself. The streets weren't even paved. Just desert. The apparently once tall buildings were now crumbled and weak. "Why am I still alone?"  
  
Suddenly everything started growing fuzzy. Static like, as one could say. She distantly heard a drop of water, and then red signs flashed like wild fire across her screen. They finally stopped on scratchy, angry looking letters. They spelled a message that Sharie wished they hadn't.  
  
Phase 1:Burning Skeith: The Hell of No Voice.  
  
"Phase one?" she whispered to herself. Not being able to communicate was her worst fear, and someone was going to take her voice away.  
  
Sharie wanted to scream about what was happening, but no sound escaped her lips. She started to panic when she saw Ryuoku and Cheetra standing in front of her.  
  
She wanted to call out to them, but she couldn't make a sound.  
  
"Guess no one's here," said Cheetra.  
  
"Yah, we'd hear something," agreed Ryuoku.  
  
No. thought Sharie. They can't leave me!  
  
She ran over to them, but they logged out before she could reach them. She wanted to cry out in anguish, but when Ryuoku and Cheetra logged out, Sharie noticed something she hadn't before. A figure in the distance.  
  
Sharie ran over to it, and as she got closer, she saw hell. It was a monster like none she'd ever seen before. Its limbs seemed to be just barely connected, if at all. It had three little holes for eyes. It had almost a complete circle attached to its head, but a little towards the left, there was a gap. A red staff hovered in front of it, and it was a red to match its body. Burning Skeith.  
  
It pointed, and called out a spell that really hurt Sharie's life stock. That pissed her off. She ran forward, and took a slice at it. Burning Skeith recoiled, and the piece she sliced at fell off.  
  
Not a bug free monster? Oh yeah. she thought.  
  
Sharie ran up to monster. She drew her blade and hacked relentlessly at it. When she took a breath, she saw that it was nothing but a pile of parts.  
  
Easy pray. she thought. Then she looked at herself, and saw no flashing experience points. Why? she asked in her mind.  
  
As if an answer to her question, the parts started moving. They connected themselves, and grew together to form the creature that Sharie had just defeated.  
  
It's...not...possible! Sharie thought, and ran, realizing that there was no way to defeat this nightmare. She ran tirelessly to the edge of the city, and only just realized that it was no longer a city.  
  
She was now standing on a plain field, deserted, and surrounded by molten lava. There was no escape.  
  
Sharie backed away from the on-coming monster until her feet hit the edge of the platform.  
  
If I can feel pain...then what would death be like? she asked herself mentally.  
  
She was about to scream, when a boy in red gated in in front of her. He had an orange hat, emerald green hair, and was a twinblade.  
  
"Don't be afraid. That's what it wants. You've got to look in yourself and fight your fear," he said flatly. "If you can manage that, then it will have no choice but to let you win!"  
  
Sharie wanted to ask who he was, but couldn't speak. Before she could even attempt to sign what he was thinking, the boy simply faded away.  
  
Maybe, I should do what he said. Sharie thought.  
  
Sharie stared at the being, and glared at the being. It backed off a step.  
  
That's it! Sharie mentally cried.  
  
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid... Her thoughts grew stronger. I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid, "I'M NOT AFRAID!"  
  
The last of the words slipped from her mouth, and she could speak again. Her sword glowed green, and she charged at Burning Skeith.  
  
Sharie slashed relentlessly, and hacked the being into pieces. This time, although she still had no experience, the pieces didn't link together. Instead, they faded into the sky. Finally deleted.  
  
"Yes!" cried Sharie. A red gate slowly materialized in the center of the field. A chaos gate. She walked over to it, and was automatically warped.  
  
* * *  
  
"NO!" cried a very pissed off Varuchio. "How did she win?! The one who appeared, and when.... It couldn't have been an accident! It wasn't really him.... just someone using an image. But who? Not that it matters. I'll have the other seven phases destroy them.  
  
six, his mind hissed, there are only six left. Someone got to number six before me.  
  
* * *  
  
Helba laughed to herself in her own control room. She could monitor all seven of them as they tried to defeat the phases. It would be difficult for them, but they would manage, at least she hoped.  
  
"On the bright side," she said to herself, "My Kite data worked. An image of the legendary hacker himself, just to help these seven out. The fate of two worlds rest on these players, and if they fail..."  
  
She shut the thought out. They wouldn't fail, and she wouldn't either. She was going to be the one who helped the vaccine. She wouldn't let the enemy win. Helba never had, and she never would.  
  
**END**  
  
Okay, I know that Skeith is from the PS2 games, but I'm going to get around to how burning was put in front of his name, and how he's alive. Just give me time. Thanks for reading, and be sire to review! Oh, and sorry it's a little short. Thanks! 


	12. Sky

Thanks to all who reviewed! Again! And to junyortrakr, did you read past chap. 7? Oh well.  
  
Sky  
  
Tsukazi kept walking in the steamy jungle. He still hadn't found his friends, and was beginning to worry about them. Were they alright? Could they log out while he couldn't? What was happening?  
  
"Eh? Why is there this weird clearing in the middle of a tropical jungle? It looks kind of like a piece of the beach..." Tsukazi had stumbled upon a small clearing. It wasn't covered in tightly packed dirt though; it had light and fluffy beach sand. In one corner, was a small piece of ocean flowing in and out like waves.  
  
"This place just gets weirder and weirder."  
  
He stumbled aimlessly toward the middle of the clearing, and sat down to rest his feet.  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru woke on top of a white, fluffy piece of...something. She sat up, and looked around. The others were no where near her. She stood up, and walked in the direction that she was facing when she woke up.  
  
Subaru looked at the ground where she walked. What she was on top of looked awfully familiar. As if she saw them every day. Then she figured it out. She was standing on top of-  
  
"Clouds?" she asked herself. As she walked, Subaru saw something she hadn't before, a piece of a cloud was different. In fact, an entire circle of ground was different. It looked like a patch of desert.  
  
"But in the sky?" Subaru asked no one. Before she knew what was happening, a strong gust kicked in. It blew her off her feet, and Subaru closed her eyes out of fear.  
  
* * *  
  
Sharie was falling again. But this time, she didn't slam into a ground. It was a normal experience, like warping to another field in the game. When she was about to hit the ground, yellow rings caught her, and she was warped.  
  
Sharie landed on a small patch of desert that looked like the field she was just on. The rest of the ground was made up out of clouds. She looked at the sand below her, and smiled.  
  
In the piece of sand, red letters were forming. This time though, they weren't bad. They spelled out; Phase 1 Complete. What confused her most was the phase 1 part. Were there more phases?  
  
As she looked a little to the left to get an idea of her surroundings, she saw someone on the ground. The unconscious girl looked sort of like-  
  
"Subaru! It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed.   
  
"Uh?" Subaru slowly sat up and rubbed her head.  
  
"Are you alright Subaru?" asked Sharie meaningfully. For a second, there was no response from her. Then she blinked a couple of times and answered.  
  
"Aren't you...the one who wanted my member address so long ago?" she asked.  
  
"Oh...that. Yeah, I guess I did," admitted Sharie, embarrassed at how she had acted when she first met her.  
  
"Don't feel ashamed. You may have it now. We need to form a party anyway." Subaru said sympathetically.  
  
"All right! YES!" exclaimed Sharie, but when she saw the look on Subaru's face, she dulled it down to a quiet "Thanks."  
  
Subaru stood up. "Maybe we should keep walking?" she offered.  
  
"Okay! And, just one thing. If you start seeing static, and then red letters, I'd be careful." warned Sharie.  
  
"I will," Subaru said quietly, and Sharie got the feeling that she had lost her mind.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ah, Tsukasa. The essential part of my plan. You will help "The World" realize my dream, and help me rule everything," Varuchio whispered to himself.  
  
"Subaru? Why are we on top of clouds?"  
  
"I'm afraid I do not know. But we should try and find a red gate like yours."  
  
The conversation tore Varuchio's eyes away from the still-life capsule in the corner of his office. He stared at the top-left screen because he thought he heard Sharie, but as he stared at the now blank screen, he realized that she cleared phase one.  
  
His eyes darted from screen to screen, searching for the heavy blade.  
  
The wavemaster in the forest, the blademaster on the cliff. his mind raced, trying to keep up with his eyes. Ah, the axemen in the clouds, how I should have known.  
  
"Wait," he whispered to himself, "I didn't program in an escape system. How did she GET OUT!?!" As he finished his words, a cat appeared in front of him. It smiled, waved at the screen, and then faded away.  
  
"MACHA!" cried Varuchio. "That cat...!" He smiled sinisterly. "If Macha is helping them, then the one who awakened him before me was...!" He laughed to himself. He threw on his trench coat.  
  
"While I'm out, I might as well throw phase two with the angel-girl's worst fear," He laughed again as he threw down a switch. Then he disappeared in a swarm of yellow rings.  
  
* * *  
  
"Huh? Hey! Subaru! Up ahead, there's a tower!" Sharie cried.  
  
"Really? Then let us hurry to it." Subaru said flatly.  
  
Sharie ran forward to the tower, and tried to push the front door open. It wouldn't move. She tried again and again, ramming it with her shoulder, and then finally giving up.  
  
"It's locked," Sharie wheezed out.  
  
"No it isn't." Subaru argued as she pushed it open easily. "I'll go in first." She took a few footsteps in, and then motioned for Sharie to follow. After that, she kept walking, as if examining the place.  
  
"Okay!" Sharie exclaimed. She tried to run through the door, but was sprung back by an unseen force. "What the hell?!?" Subaru kept walking. "SUBARU!" Sharie called out.  
  
"What is it...!" Subaru turned around and the door started closing. She ran, trying to reach the exit before it was too late. The door slammed in her face only a few feet away.  
  
"SUBARU!" cried Sharie, and rammed the door with her shoulder. It was locked. Subaru was trapped, and she couldn't get out. Sharie had a growing felling of terror. She knew what was in that tower, and why she couldn't get in. It was phase two, and Sharie couldn't help Subaru through it in the slightest.  
  
* * *  
  
Macha hovered above Aura's old bed. Aura sat calmly on it. She looked up at Macha.  
  
"Macha, I sense that...something...is wrong. If something were to happen to me, or to you, never summon...it...again," Aura spoke softly, but her word echoed, and Macha nodded a nod of understanding.  
  
"Thank you, Macha. Never summon it again."  
  
* * *  
  
"No!" Subaru cried as she banged on the door with her fist. It wouldn't budge. She finally gave up, and slid down to the floor. As she got a good look around, she realized that there were no stairs leading up.  
  
As she walked to the center of the room, something happened. The environment around her flickered.  
  
"What..." started Subaru, backing up a little, "was that?"  
  
It flickered again, and again. Eventually it flickered so often that it was like a sheet of static. She vaguely heard a drop of water in the background. Then red letters flashed angrily in front of her until they stopped on a horrifying message. They spelled out; PHASE TWO: CRYSTAL INNIS: THE TORMENT OF MEMORIES.  
  
"Memories?" Subaru asked herself. A large chunk of the ceiling slowly came down to the floor, and divided itself into steps. A staircase leading up to the second floor. She backed away from it.  
  
Three yellow rings formed in front of her. A player gated in from them. Subaru knew this twinblade well, and his name was-  
  
"Kite! What are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
"Listen to me Subaru. Whatever you see up there," he pointed towards the staircase, "I want you to remember something,"  
  
"What is it?" asked Subaru.  
  
"You are Subaru. Nothing can take that from you. And no matter what you see, things past by are things past by, and they can not hurt you. Good luck."  
  
Subaru wanted to say something more, but Kite logged out.  
  
"How did he...?" she gave up, and walked up the staircase.  
  
* * *  
  
**REAL WORLD**  
  
"An?" asked a father.  
  
"...Yes?" answered a girl in front of a terminal.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"...I'm...play-ing... 'The World'."  
  
"I thought that after the incident with...her...you decided not to play that game again."  
  
"You...mean...Mor-gonna?"  
  
"Uh...yeah,"  
  
"I...decided...to...play...anyway. To...meet...Subaru." The girl answered with a strange distance between her words, and in a voice that sounded cracked.  
  
"Well, do you want some dinner?"  
  
"..No...thank...you."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"...Yes...!" The girl started to cough violently. After a little while, a small dribble of virus leaked out of her mouth, and dropped onto the keyboard. It slithered into the keyboard.  
  
"AN!" called the father. The girl's body grew limp. The father was about to panic, when mail flashed under the user name. He clicked on it, and Aura's face popped up. It read;  
  
To Bear, H^lp Tsukasa! He is tra**ed! Seek Ryuoku! The e*e(y impl&nted virus in the real body to delay y&ur @ction! Seek Ryuoku in Mac Anu in an hour! T^e*e i(n't m*ch T@me P!e$#e he%* Tsukasa! Beware of V^%#ch^( P#e$^e H&**Y  
  
The message was scrambled at some points, but he got the general idea. In an hour, he would meet Ryuoku in Mac Anu.  
  
"Time for Bear to log back in!" The man picked up the girl, and laid her down in her bed.  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru climbed up the staircase. The second floor was as empty as the first.  
  
"And I was worried." She said to herself. But soon the area in front of her began to warp and change. In front of her, she saw a young girl. She was around the age of 11. She was walking on her balcony in her house.  
  
"It's...me!" Subaru cried uneasily. She watched her younger self walk carelessly on a balcony. She leaned against the part of a railing her father had been working on. It broke, and the girl fell.  
  
"NO!" cried Subaru as she watched herself plummet towards the ground.  
  
The girl woke up in a hospital bed. She couldn't move her legs. The father slapped her, and walked away.  
  
"No..." Subaru stared at her supposed 'memory.' She never was slapped by her father.  
  
"This is wrong! This isn't the way it happened at all! That's no even how this happened! It's all...WRONG!" The last yelling echoed through the tower, and a third set of stairs crushed the incorrect memory. Subaru climbed them, and didn't look back.  
  
* * *  
  
Sharie sat down in the clouds. Subaru had been gone for a long time.  
  
"What is taking-!" In the middle of her words, the tower vanished. A barren field appeared with some type of crystal demon. Sharie ran forward to Subaru. She could enter the battle field at least.  
  
"Crystal Innis!" gasped Subaru. Sharie took one swing at it, and took a large slice out of it.  
  
"Come on Subaru! Help me hack this thing!" cried Sharie. Subaru ran forward, and took another clean slice out of it. Eventually Crystal Innis was gone, and a red gate appeared in the center of the field.  
  
"Let's go!" cried Subaru.  
  
"Right behind ya!" Sharie exclaimed, and ran after her. They warped away, and left the swirling mass of clouds behind them.  
  
* * *  
  
Macha sat in the middle of the field where Aura's bed was. He picked up a blade of grass, and twirled it between the fingers.  
  
"Hello, Phase Six,"  
  
Macha felt a cold hand clasp his shoulder, and his thought started to fade.  
  
**END**  
  
Thanks for reading! Be sure to drop a review when your done! Sorry I took a little bit to update, but I'll try not to again. 


	13. Cliff

Yah! More reviews! Thanks, thanks, thanks and again! I'd say that my story's around half over though. ( ( ( :_(. Thanks for sticking with it!  
  
Cliff  
  
Kenshi stared at the patch of clouds in front of him. He'd found them inside an abandoned outdoor café. He wondered what they were for. At one point the blademaster considered standing on them, but then thought against it.  
  
"Knowing my luck, they wouldn't be solid," Kenshi sighed to himself. He was about to get up, to walk around for an exit, when wind started whipping his face. He shielded his eyes, and when he opened them, saw Sharie and who he guessed was Subaru.  
  
"Sharie!" exclaimed Kenshi, "and Subaru! It's so good to see you guys!"  
  
"Hey, nice to see you too!" said Sharie. There was a mix of emotions on her face. Kenshi could read them like a book. She was happy to see that another friend was okay, but disappointed that she hadn't met him in somewhere like Mac Anu.  
  
"Yes, it is nice to see that you are not hurt," Subaru said calmly.  
  
Sharie looked at her surroundings. They were on a rocky cliff near an ocean shore. It was around eight feet off the ground. "Hey...where are we?"  
  
"I really don't know," Kenshi admitted. "I wish I did know, though. Then I'd know where to go for an exit." He smiled. His friends hadn't left him. They were right there. He had good friends now. No longer would he be alone.  
  
Cheetra. he thought. We have to find her.  
  
He stood up from one of the café's tables. "We'd better get started in looking for an exit!" With that, he walked out of the arrangement of tables, and Sharie and Subaru hastily followed.  
  
* * *  
  
Varuchio warped into his office. A broad grin on his face at what he had done. He had warped Macha's hat. Now it controlled his thoughts, and told him to do what he wanted.  
  
"Let's see how the brats are faring." He grinned even wider as he thought of how Crystal Innis must have emotionally ripped the angel girl apart. But as soon as he saw the screens, his grin quickly disappeared.  
  
The screen that had Sharie and the other girl, 'Subaru', as the others said it, was blackened out. They defeated phase two.  
  
"NO!" growled Varuchio. "They won't destroy my creation! Not now!" Then he calmed down, and smiled. They only defeated two faces. He really should have expected them to make it this far. They wouldn't go any farther though. He laughed to himself, and threw the switch to activate phase three.  
  
In the capsule behind him, there was a sound. One that Varuchio didn't notice. A short gasp, almost as a plead. Tsukasa stirred in the container, and was then perfectly still again.  
  
* * *  
  
Sharie walked along the rocky path of the cliff. It was kind of near the edge, and she figured that that was why Kenshi kept his distance.  
  
"Why is Kenshi walking so far away from us? Is there something wrong?" asked Subaru. She looked from Kenshi, to Sharie, and then looked down at herself.  
  
"No, it's not us. The kid's just afraid of heights." Even as the words slipped from her mouth, Sharie knew what Kenshi's phase would be. He was afraid of heights, and phase three was going to pry on that.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey! Look ahead! The cliff is starting to slope up!" cried Sharie.  
  
"Finally, we're getting somewhere!" moaned Kenshi.  
  
"Yes, let us hurry," agreed Subaru.  
  
Kenshi walked up the cliff carelessly, keeping close to the center so as not to be near either side. Subaru noticed this as he lagged behind them.  
  
"Sharie? May I ask you a question?" asked Subaru.  
  
"Well, ya just did so I guess that one more won't hurt," teased Sharie.  
  
"Oh, okay." The girl was silent after that.  
  
"I didn't mean that you couldn't!" explained Sharie, as she noticed that her idle was depressed. Subaru lightened up at her words.  
  
"Oh, I apologize for not understanding," Subaru said.  
  
"Hey, you want to know something?" asked Sharie.  
  
"What is it?" Subaru had no idea what the girl was talking about.  
  
"That," she said flatly.  
  
"This?" asked a puzzled Subaru.  
  
"Yeah, that. The way you talk is way to formal. Try to dull it down a bit."  
  
"Dull it down?"  
  
"Yeah. Just try it."  
  
"I shall try."  
  
"No! Not like that at all! Try being more casual. Like, instead of saying 'I shall try,' try something like 'alright'."  
  
"I sha-... Alright. It actually sounds a little weird." Subaru scrunched her face at the new answer she gave her new friend.  
  
"Well. If you don't like it, then you can pretend I didn't say anything at all," said Sharie giving up.  
  
"I think I will."  
  
They walked for a little while. The land didn't seem to level out for a little while still.  
  
"Hey, Subaru?" asked Sharie.  
  
"Yes?" Subaru responded.  
  
"Didn't you have something to ask me earlier?" Sharie asked.  
  
"Yes I did," Subaru said. She had actually forgotten all about that.  
  
"Well," wondered Sharie, "what was it?"  
  
"It's about Kenshi and phase three." Sharie felt her stomach lurch at the mention of phase three.  
  
"What about?" asked Sharie.  
  
"Well it's...it's just that.... Don't you think Kenshi might be desperately afraid of heights?"  
  
"Oh. That. Well, I guess so. Yeah."  
  
"Do you think that phase three might play off of his greatest fear like yours and mine?"  
  
Sharie glanced uneasily at the stumbling boy behind them, and then at Subaru. "We'll just have to keep a close eye on him, and make sure he doesn't wander off alone. We should also stay in front of him to clear the path of anything unpleasant."  
  
"Alright. Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
Kenshi knew that Sharie and Subaru were talking about him. He really didn't care though. He was to busy thinking about the angry red letters that flashed at him. The letters that spelled something he wished they didn't. Phase Three: Shocker Magus: The Misery of Heights.  
  
He thought they had something to do with high places, but he wasn't that scared. The others probably saw it too and paid no mind to it. So he shouldn't care either.  
  
As he walked, he saw that the path grew skinnier as he climbed. This made him a little nervous. By time he reached the top, there was nothing but a narrow strip of land about four feet in width connecting the one he was on to what looked like a circular piece of land just as high up with a staircase leading down.  
  
Sharie and Subaru had already crossed the piece of land when they saw that Kenshi had stopped at the beginning of the land.  
  
"What's wrong?" called Sharie.  
  
"I'm afraid of heights!" Kenshi called back.  
  
"Just don't look down and cross slowly!" she shot back. "It's the only way to leave!"  
  
"Al-alright," stammered Kenshi. He breathed in, and was about to take his first step, when the land changed.  
  
No longer was it just a strip of land. The edges had fallen away, and only a crystal path of cubes stacked together in a horizontal line connected the lands.  
  
"What the hell is going on!?" cried Sharie as she caught glance of the path. The sky turned to a musky orange, and steam burst up from both sides of the half-foot cubes. A steam blast pushed itself through the center of the path, and clouded Kenshi's vision.  
  
Then Sharie's eyes grew wide with horror. "Kenshi! Did you see red letters that formed Phase Three?"  
  
"Yeah! I thought they were pointless, so I ignored them. I'm sorry..." he gasped.  
  
"Don't be! But, just tell me one thing!"  
  
"What's that?" asked Kenshi with sorrow in his voice.  
  
"What did they say?"  
  
"Phase three, Shocking Magus, the misery of heights!"  
  
"Oh no," Sharie choked as a burst of steam hit her in the face.  
  
"Kenshi! Listen to me! The only way to survive this is to cross that path!" cried Subaru, her face drown in a veil of Steam.  
  
"I, I can't!" hollered Kenshi.  
  
"If you need motivation," Sharie blurted through steam clouds, "then look behind you!"  
  
Kenshi glanced over his shoulder, and saw what looked like sparks of electricity flying at him. They formed what looked like a leaf. It had around twelve leaves, and a twig like center supporting them. On the end, heading right for him, was a large stone sphere.  
  
Kenshi gasped at the creature, and had no choice but to stumble onto the path. He walked slowly, and took it one step at a time.  
  
"Just don't look down!" cried Sharie, which of course made Kenshi look down. He was half way there, but looking down slowed him down. The steam blast hit him in the face.  
  
The stinging gas filled his nostrils, and made them burn. It hit his eyes, and made them water. He sniffed a little, and when his eyes cleared, he was falling. Falling from reality, and his friends. He was going to die, and the enemy will have won, but there was nothing he could do about it.  
  
* * *  
  
Kenshi opened his eyes. He was in a dull classroom. A teacher's dull voice droned on and on about a lesson he couldn't care less about. It was mid- spring, and a gentle breeze wave through his hair.  
  
Was...was it all just a dream? he thought. Did I just imagine falling? Dream up the virus? And was Cheetra ever existent?  
  
He was home. He was at his own high school. His familiar standard issue pencil glowed bright in the sunlight.  
  
Kenshi really thought he was home. He finally got a good look at the girl sitting next to him. It was Cheetra.  
  
"Cheetra? What are you doing here?" he asked.  
  
"I'm your friend, why wouldn't I be here when you needed me to?" she responded.  
  
"Yeah, where are we supposed to be, at home?"  
  
Sharie's sarcastic voice snapped his attention to the left of him.  
  
"We'll always be there to help you out, man," supported Ryuoku. The first true friend he made in "The World" was sitting right in front of him.  
  
"You are always with friends," cooed Subaru's soft voice. She was off to the top right of him.  
  
"Always," Tsukazi said.  
  
"Ryuoku, Cheetra, all of you. Thanks." Kenshi whispered.  
  
"Friends are always there to help," Ryuoku said.  
  
"You aren't all alone anymore. This is a game, and you've made some actual friendships," Sharie added.  
  
"And we will always be there to give you a boost," Subaru started. And then Kenshi was falling again. He was falling down a dark hole that scared him.  
  
"or to give you that extra reach you need," finished Tsukazi, and all of his friends grabbed his wrist, and stopped him from falling.  
  
"So get back up, and walk over to safety!" Cheetra gripped his hand, and clasped it around a solid edge. His friends faded away, and Kenshi was in steam again.  
  
* * *  
  
Subaru had her eyes closed. She had heard screaming, and knew Kenshi was falling.  
  
Is he really gone? Subaru asked herself in her head.  
  
"Subaru! Look!" called Sharie.  
  
Subaru opened her eyes, and saw Kenshi gripping to the edge of a cube. He slowly climbed up, and started stumbling over the last few feet. He collapsed on the side with Sharie and her on it.  
  
"Thanks guys," Kenshi thanked.  
  
Subaru was about to ask 'for what?' when she heard a cry of defeat. Shocking Magus was crumbling into dust, and was defeated.  
  
* * *  
  
Kenshi and the others walked down the marble steps. The orange sky had brightened back into a peaceful day, and everything was as sunny as it was when Kenshi first woke up on the shoreline.  
  
On the beach, they saw a flickering red gate. Sharie and Subaru said it was a way out, and they ran towards it.  
  
* * *  
  
Helba smiled in her personal office.  
  
"Well it looks like my Kite program is no longer necessary after I saw that." She smiled. "Their care for each other can help them out of situations far better then a Kite hologram could."  
  
Helba thought of Varuchio. "It looks like your plan is failing," Helba joked to herself. "Reviving the Phase data to prey on their fears? You should have known they'd escape."  
  
Helba grinned at the screen, and knew that it wouldn't be long now until they were reunited and had taken out Varuchio for good.  
  
**END**  
  
So! There's the latest chapter! Really though, it might end soon.... But thanks for reading so far. Be sure to review before you leave! And I know the whole 'power of friendship' thing was kind of corny, but since Kenshi had no friends in the real world, I thought it'd be nice for that to happen to him. Thanks for reading! Again! 


	14. Jungle

Yah! More people are reading! Yah! Thanks to all who reviewed as always!  
  
Katdrama: Both offices are in "The World," so that if the need arises they could warp to a field. I don't know if it will, but...  
  
Jungle  
  
Kenshi was warping. The red gate had been an exit. All he had to do now was wait. Wait and see where he was going to land. He was hoping to land in a place like Mac Anu, but didn't want to leave Cheetra behind.  
  
Then again, he thought, she might be at the city.  
  
He hoped for that, and then knew that he was being foolish. She wouldn't be there. He needed to find her, and hoped that wherever he was landing, Cheetra would be there.  
  
* * *  
  
Varuchio was glaring at the screens in front of him. They shouldn't have gotten even this far. Three phases gone? This was getting ridicules. He shook a little in anger. His black hair wavering in front of his face. His pale hands clenched, and then relaxed. They would eventually be stopped. He hadn't a need to worry. They didn't even know where to find his office!  
  
Varuchio smiled, and leaned back in his chair. He had other ways to stop their progress, even if they could defeat all of the phases.  
  
* * *  
  
Tsukazi sighed as another wave lapped into the sand. Why was he still sitting there? He sighed again, and tuned out the world around him.  
  
The wavemaster probably shouldn't have done this. As he closed his eyes, Sharie warped into the patch of sand he was on. She fell from a little above him, and had a rough landing that was partially broken by Tsukazi.  
  
"Ow!" he cried as the heavyblade crushed his ribcage. "Get off of me!"  
  
Sharie slowly forced herself up with her sword. She watched Tsukazi stand up, and rub his head.  
  
"Look out!" cried Sharie, but was cut off in her warning as Subaru and Kenshi made their way to the new field. Tsukazi was forced down to the ground again, and wheezed with pain as Subaru stood up on top of him. Her high-heeled boots digging into his spine.  
  
"I'm so sorry!" apologized Subaru when she realized he was under her. She hastily jumped off.  
  
Kenshi rolled of into the sand face first. He stood up, and walked around in a little circle for a while. The fall made him dizzy. When he finally got things in perspective, he saw no sign of Cheetra. He sighed a little, and slumped over to where the girls where standing.  
  
Tsukazi finally got up, and rubbed his aching back. He smiled wearily at them and then sat back down.  
  
"Aren't we gonna get going?" asked Sharie.  
  
"What's the point?" asked Tsukazi.  
  
"We are going to find an exit," explained Subaru.  
  
"There isn't one," argued Tsukazi.  
  
"Whadda ya mean 'there isn't one'?" demanded Sharie. She knew full and well that there had to be some place for Tsukazi's phase to come in.  
  
"I've walked around this place for hours. The only thing I've seen is this patch of sand.  
  
Kenshi glanced at him uneasily. Being in "The world" for so long, he had gotten a good mind for how much time had passed. He knew that half an hour ago, they had fallen into this torturous place.  
  
"Do you think that someone outside of this place might be deciding when a phase would attack and where the place where the phase would be?" Subaru asked Sharie.  
  
"I wouldn't doubt it. It's the most likely case, and why the phases activate when they do," Sharie agreed.  
  
Tsukazi stared at them in a confused way. "Phases? What are you guys talking about?" he asked.  
  
Sharie smiled at him. "I'll explain on the way. Now let's go!" As if she knew he would follow, she and the others walked down the jungle. He hastily ran after.  
  
* * *  
  
Bear glanced at the clock in the bottom left corner of his PC. Half an hour left. His nerves were killing him. Why would someone want An? How could he have been so blind?  
  
He had been living with a person who was being controlled by a virus! It would explain why she took so long to respond. How could he have been so blind?  
  
Bear stopped blaming himself for his own stupidity and started counting down the seconds. He wanted to help An. He wanted to do something this time.  
  
Mail flashed under his account. Bear clicked on it, and gasped. It read;  
  
Sender: CC Corp. Administrator / Subject: Virus  
  
=====To all players of "The World,"  
A lethal virus has begun to spread over the network. We have  
discovered through thorough investigation that this is not a simple  
virus. It can cause a lot more then just harm to your character.  
  
=====This virus seems to run along the same bases of the Deadly Flash  
incident a few years ago. Due to continuing requests, starting of  
tomorrow, it will be impossible to log on without an administrative  
password. Soon the entire system will be discontinued. We apologize  
for any inconvenience.  
  
===============Shut Down Date: 7/27. One week from today. ==========  
  
==================CC Corp.=================================  
=========================Management========================  
  
Bear struggled to grasp what he was seeing. In a few hours, it would be impossible for him to log on with out one of those passwords. It was seven p.m. There was no way to rescue Tsukasa in the given time.  
  
* * *  
  
"So, if you see static, let us know immediately," finished Sharie.  
  
"Uh...okay." Tsukazi thought he under stood what she was talking about. He didn't want to ask any questions anyway. She had just finished explaining about the phase thing she was talking about earlier. He blinked a couple of times, and then continued following her down the rough road.  
  
They walked slowly down the forest path. Kenshi glanced at Tsukazi a couple of times. He finally decided to ask what he wanted.  
  
"Uh...Tsukazi?" he asked.  
  
"What?" responded Tsukazi instantly.  
  
"Have you seen Cheetra around here?" he asked.  
  
"No," but as he saw the look on the boys face, he added, "I'm sure we'll find her soon though."  
  
Kenshi gave a half-hearted smile, and then looked back down at his feet.  
  
"Look!" gasped Subaru. There was a temple up ahead. An ancient temple. It was made out of stone, and covered in growing plant life.  
  
"Be careful," warned Sharie. "It's just like a phase to be hiding in a place like this. Let us know the second you see static,"  
  
Tsukazi nodded, and they walked into the temple.  
  
The first room they walked into was shaped like a square, and there was nothing else there. He was about to sigh at the fact that one of Sharie's red chaos gates weren't there when he started to see the temple in front of him flicker. He wanted to tell Sharie, but he seamed to lose his voice.  
  
He was swept away in a sea of static. Angry red flashes formed letters, and spelled out a nightmare for Tsukazi. Phase Four: Green Fidchell; The Nightmare of Father.  
  
When the static cleared, everything was blurry. He dropped to his knees; his world was spinning.  
  
"What's happening to him?"  
  
A voice. It echoed, and then faded. He couldn't make out who said it. Tsukazi couldn't even make out simple shapes anymore.  
  
"Is it his phase-?"  
  
The echoing voice faded, and he felt like throwing up. He finally passed out on the floor, and his head struck the cold stone.  
  
* * *  
  
Helba stared into the jungle screen. Phase four could originally see into the future. Would it use its old powers on the wavemaster? He had been put into a coma-like state. Helba knew that he wouldn't wake up until he could master his fear.  
  
"What is this fear again?" she asked herself. She pulled up her virtual guide, and flipped through the pages in search for the answer.  
  
"Ah, yes," she said to herself, "His father. And his brother siding with his father. Let's see how this will work out." She sighed, and waited for something to happen on the virtual screen.  
  
* * *  
  
Tsukazi was in a dark void. He swam through it like he was in a pool. He saw a shimmering glow up ahead. The wavemaster swam for it, and then suddenly realized he was running. In his house, actually.  
  
He was afraid of something. Something...dark. He looked down at himself and saw that he was only about six. He looked over his shoulder, and saw a menacing figure running after him.  
  
Tsukazi tried to run, but the figure was faster. It was an unfair match. He ran until he slammed into a wall. He rolled over onto his back, and the figure pinned him to the ground.  
  
"Rachael is gone! It's all your fault, brat!"  
  
Tsukazi's ears stung as the name of his mother sighed through the figures lips. Light finally hit the man's face, and Tsukazi saw his father's evil glare.  
  
"N-no! Your wrong!" He didn't even realize the cry through his mouth as the man punched him in the face. After the blow, he left.  
  
Tsukazi rolled over, and actually felt the stinging pain. Blood dripped out of his swollen mouth, and one of his baby teeth with it.  
  
Tsukazi was in the void again, and was no longer in pain. Although he was still trapped in a younger version of himself. He felt himself being swept toward another light.  
  
This time he was at a park. His brother and himself were waiting for a turn on the swings. He realized that he was now eleven or so. He turned around to see his twin brother smiling at him.  
  
Finally a swing was open. He ran to it, and jumped onto the swing. He went up high on the first swing. He seemed to almost be in the clouds. It was an old sensation that he never wanted to end. But he soon had to swing down.  
  
As he neared the bottom, he felt a foot collide with his tailbone. He wheezed onto the ground in withering pain. He managed to roll over and see his father glare at him as he sat his brother on the swing he was just on.  
  
Tsukazi felt hot tears bleed from his eyes. He whimpered a little, and saw the sad look on his brother's face before being swept back into the void.  
  
This time he was himself again. He struggled to not enter the next tormenting memory, but was soon swept into his house again.  
  
He was alone, and a gray light filled the hallways. He walked over to his room, and saw the door was open a crack. Lying on the floor was his brother. Dead. Tsukazi choked a little, and then watched in horror as what wasn't supposed to be happened.  
  
Dain lifted his head off of the dusty and cold floor of the Californian house.  
  
"I'm dead because of you," his cold voice said.  
  
"No..." whispered Tsukazi.  
  
"You killed you brother Maggot!" he heard his father's voice cry before being pushed onto the ground. He rolled over onto his back, and stood up. He knew what he had to do, and he wasn't going to run anymore. He had to face his father, no matter how scared he was. He crawled to his feet, and glared at the middle-aged man.  
  
"What do you think your doing?" demanded his father.  
  
"You've gone to far," he said.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"You know what I'm talking about!"  
  
"Shut-up!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"What did you just say?" demanded the man menacingly.  
  
"I said no!" he said boldly.  
  
"Your in for it now!" He raised his fist, and before he could do a thing, Tsukazi punched him in the gut. The man collapsed on the floor.  
  
"I'm not afraid of you anymore," he spat, and then found himself in the void again. Suddenly, in front of him was what looked like a mask with a golden coin for a right eye. It was covered in moss.  
  
"Green Fidchell," sighed Tsukazi before raising his staff.  
  
"BIGAN DON!" he hollered, and then watched the rocks rain on top of the creature. It was soon defeated, and Tsukazi grew tired. He laid down on the void, and fell asleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Kenshi was worried. Tsukazi had been out for a good ten minutes. He was about to panic, when he saw the wave master wake up, and struggle to his feet.  
  
"Are you alright?" gasped Subaru.  
  
"Fine," Tsukazi answered, and then gave them a thumbs up as a stair case fell from the ceiling.  
  
Sharie knew he defeated the phase, as they saw a red gate spinning on the second floor. They climbed to it, and warped to the next destination, as Kenshi hoped past anything that Cheetra would be there.  
  
**END**  
  
Okay, sorry I took a little while to update. I'll try to have the next chapter up before the week is over. ::gasp!:: Thanks for reading! And be sure to review! Oh, and I'm also going to be doing something else. I'm going to make a 'DVD' of the first four chapters of .hack//VIRUS. I'll add something special that you can read with it. There only going to be one chapter with around four chapters of my story on each, so if you want to check them out I'm just letting you know. The first will be out tomorrow or so. Okay! Thanks for reading! And if you think that's I dumb idea then just let me know in your review. I won't care if you do. 


	15. Arctic

Review, review, review! Thanks for reviewing! Just a quick question, does anyone know the date when .hack//Legend of the Twilight bracelet comes out on TV? It doesn't really matter, but if you do know could you let me know?  
  
I figure I haven't directly answered reviews in a while, so.  
  
KatDrama: What I meant by the DVD thing was another story on Fanfic. with four chapters of .hack//VIRUS on them. It doesn't really matter though. As for if his brother is dead or not, you'll just have to wait until the end of the story.  
  
Helbaworshipper: Thanks for sticking with the story!  
  
Luthi: Thanks for letting me know. I'll try not to have characters do things without giving reason first.  
  
Arctic  
  
It was cold. It was very cold. Off in the far distance of the eternally dark, gray clouds, there were frozen cliffs that stretched far above to where the eye could see. Snow swept with the wind as it whipped across the frozen wasteland. Through all of this, Cheetra walked.  
  
The Heavy Axeman began to wish that the administrators had programmed more then just a one-piece dress that ended just above the knees into her limited edition character design. Cheetra walked into the looming darkness. Her footprints stretched behind her farther then the girl thought.  
  
"Where are they?" she asked herself, although completely unaware if sound had even came out when she spoke. The harsh wind had drowned out all sound she could make. She shivered a little harder.  
  
All of the experience she had gained, all of the friends she had made, the powerful equipment she owned, was completely useless here. She stumbled aimlessly off into the darkness.  
  
* * *  
  
Aura sat on her old bed. It was pleasantly soft. She chocked on a little sob. Macha was her friend. Now the cat was probably going to be forced to do something awful. What if she used her old tricks? Would she possibly become Mia again to trick them as she did Kite?  
  
The girl forced the thoughts out of her head. She blinked, and got an idea. Perhaps the hacker who had helped Kite could help her now? She liked the idea, and warped out of her field.  
  
* * *  
  
Kenshi stared blankly at the frigid winds whip everywhere but the small patch of flowers he was standing on with the others. A small tree grew in the middle, and this was the only sign of plant life for miles.  
  
The blademaster had grown used to the idea of bumping into a friend when they landed in their new destination. However, no one was there this time. He sighed inwardly.  
  
"Where.... Is there someone here?" called Sharie hopefully. A worried look soon rushed onto her face. "Subaru, do you think that someone might be in trouble out in that storm?"  
  
"I think so. I doubt that a field would have no one on it," the girl replied.  
  
"Then we're going to look!" Sharie said. Soon they left the safety of the circle, and walked cautiously out into the storm in search for whoever was missing, and Kenshi hoped against anything that it wasn't Cheetra.  
  
* * *  
  
"So, Macha has gone missing?" asked Helba. Aura had glided into her office only a little while ago. She seemed distressed, and as if something was wrong.  
  
**FLASH BACK**  
  
Aura hovered through the halls as quickly as she could. She slowly grew tired, but didn't stop. She knew that she couldn't. Macha was in trouble, and after how long she had deceived Kite; she knew that if her mind had gone awry, then she could easily cause serious trouble for Ryuoku and his friends.  
  
Why was Varuchio doing this to the world that she had grown to love? Why would he poison so many players? From what she had gathered, at least a hundred players or more were being lead into a virus trap set by Varuchio at every second she wasted.  
  
The plan he had set was horrible. He sent out a false message to all players advertising a mysterious limited time event with a rare item as the prize. Aura had looked into this event, and saw hell.  
  
The entire field where the event was said to take place was a sea of blue virus. A lone island sat in the center, and the first player warped in. A wave of the virus knocked him from his standing ground before he could even realize where he was. A Blue moon flashed menacingly.  
  
He swam to the surface and gasped for air. The realism of the virus was starting to take effect on the unfortunate long arm. He wheezed as he groped blindly for the rock. Another wave of virus pulled him under again.  
  
Aura could stand this no longer. She warped out of the field, and to the online area of Helba's office, where she stood now. She knew that she would be in there. Macha had mentioned this place. But what if she just scoffed when Aura told her story and sent her out of the office?  
  
She shook her head. Helba wasn't like that. She sighed, and pushed the door open.  
  
* * *  
  
Helba was slightly shocked when the door to her 'office' was pushed in. Had Varuchio learned of her whereabouts? Her mind went into a slight ease when Aura showed her face. A slight ease, but not a complete one.  
  
Ryuoku had said that Aura hadn't made any contact with him, so why was she here now? Was the issue of this virus really worse then she had thought? Was this really such a serious matter that the daughter of "The World" had to be involved?  
  
"Aura?" she asked herself.  
  
"Please, listen and understand. Macha is in trouble, and as are the ones trying to stop this virus," Aura gasped.  
  
Helba stared wonderingly, and then smiled a little. "Fine. What's wrong?" she said in her calm and collected voice, and Aura began her tale.  
  
**NORMAL**  
  
"Yes, she is missing, and I fear Varuchio has something to do with this," she said.  
  
"I understand. I will set up and run a search engine. It will monitor "The World" for the Phase Six attack program. As soon as Phase Six becomes active again, I will know, and notify yourself." Helba informed.  
  
Aura nodded her head in thanks, although she still seemed troubled. She hovered away silently.  
  
* * *  
  
Cheetra struggled to walk through the harsh climate. She stopped after a little while. She didn't even need to be told about the fact that she had learned. Her life from the game was like a hospital chart. If it dropped to zero, she would be gone.  
  
The girl watched as it dropped below half. It didn't stop descending on its scale. Her high level had kept her alive thus far, but even she couldn't keep this up for much longer. She had used up her last Recovery Drink, and was out of healing items. She didn't even have any healing spells.  
  
The land in front of her started to grow dark. She couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. She collapsed onto the ground. It was surprisingly warm as reality slipped from her grips. Nothing mattered anymore. Cheetra was finally going to have her first game over, only this one would be more then just a game.  
  
* * *  
  
Tsukazi had just cast Phal Repth for the fifth time, and watched his life be completely restored, and he even felt better. The others thanked him, and then continued their search for the missing ally.  
  
Kenshi seemed very worried as he stumbled through the snow. Tsukazi knew what was on his mind. Cheetra was probably the one who was missing, and the boy knew it too.  
  
"Kenshi I...?" Tsukazi stopped his words of encouragement as he stepped on a rather lumpy piece of snow. He looked under himself, and saw what looked like cheetah fur. "What the...?"  
  
Kenshi looked at where he was standing, and saw what was unmistakably Cheetra's dress. The boy ran over to Tsukazi, and shoved him off into a pile of icy snow.  
  
"Thanks," uttered Tsukazi darkly. When he saw what Kenshi was so upset about, he immediately could understand the boy's actions. He had dug up Cheetra from the icy wall that had buried her.  
  
"Oh my god!"  
  
Tsukazi heard Sharie cry this as she ran over to Kenshi's side. "Cast Phal Repth!" cried Kenshi.  
  
Tsukazi didn't even think as he raised his staff in front of him. "Phal Repth!" he cried. Cheetra's cold eyes darted open shortly after the recovery spell.  
  
"Kenshi?" asked Cheetra. She hugged him tightly. He smiled at her.  
  
* * *  
  
Bear looked at the clock in the bottom corner of his computer.  
  
"Fifteen minutes left," he whispered to no one. Another mail flashed under his account. "What is it this time?" he groaned as he noticed that CC Corp. had sent it.  
  
Sender: CC Corp. Staff / Subject: Apology.  
  
=====To all players,  
We apologize for the earlier message. It was merely a  
glitch in our system and we urge all players to continue  
enjoying "The World". Again, we would like to apologize.  
Please continue playing.  
  
================Signed, ==========================  
===================CC Corporation=================  
  
Bear couldn't believe what he had just read. Was that possible? Could they have truly just made an error? The man knew that something was wrong, and he continued counting down the minutes.  
  
* * *  
  
They had been walking for only a few minutes when they saw what looked like an ancient coliseum. It was the only place that wasn't snowing heavily, and although the group couldn't explain it, they didn't complain as they ran for shelter in its roofless area.  
  
As soon as they passed through the doors, four of them felt immediate warmth, but the fifth, namely Cheetra saw static. It was so strange. She saw nothing but static until red letters formed the message: Phase Five: Strong Gorre: The Despair of Being Weak.  
  
Cheetra was too troubled by the message to realize that the static had even cleared. When she looked up, she saw what looked like two floating heads with broad grins.  
  
They immediately started to attack the others. Sharie thought that they would have been easy, but she was completely wrong. They tried all they had. Tsukazi kept up the health, until the heads tag-teamed him, knocking him out cold. Cheetra ran forward, and raised her axe.  
  
She swung down with al of her strength, but barely put a scratch in the demon. To her horror, she saw that she hadn't done any damage at all. Sharie, who was at a much lower level, took out at least a hundred of the things hit points with a single strike.  
  
Cheetra couldn't believe it. The battle moved away from her, and she watched helplessly as her friends were knocked out one by one.  
  
"I'm too weak," she whispered. All that was left standing was Kenshi, but the demon turned away from him, and looked at Cheetra. She screamed as it charged at her. There wasn't any escape.  
  
Kenshi jammed himself in front of Cheetra. "Don't hurt her!" he cried with his arms out.  
  
"Don't!" cried Cheetra, but was too late as Strong Gorre knocked out her friend.  
  
She suddenly felt mad. She couldn't believe what the thing had done! How dare he hurt her friends so badly! Cheetra felt a new strength pulsate through her body. She raised her axe, and slammed it through one of the two heads. It crumbled. She turned her sights on the other one, only to see it crumble too.  
  
"They must've shared the same life," she whispered, before seeing Kenshi slowly get up.  
  
* * *  
  
Varuchio smiled. He couldn't help it, even with five phases defeated. The new mail he had just sent out. He used a system for forging letters constantly used by hackers. Every subscriber to the world had received one under the name of the CC Corp. staff.  
  
The mail voided the entire previous message sent out telling his precious players from logging in. He even managed to stop CC Corp. from activating their plan from within a game.  
  
His plan was working. He was going to win. Varuchio was finally going to be known by someone, and feared by all.  
  
* * *  
  
Tsukazi had managed to cast Phal Repth, and the others slowly climbed up. The stadium light blared even harder then before. When they all walked outside, to their surprise, they saw that the snow had mysteriously vanished.  
  
"You fought a Phase, didn't you Cheetra?" asked Kenshi.  
  
"Well, yeah. I did," she answered. "But how did you know?"  
  
"I'll explain later," he said as a red gate appeared in front of them. He told Cheetra to warp here, and they were soon out of the field that had been so miserable, and heading towards the only remaining ally, Ryuoku. Just one more Phase to go.  
  
**End**  
  
Another chapter down! Just one more phase! Or is there? Just review and I'll get the next chapter up real quick! 


	16. Island

Thanks for reviewing! YA!  
  
Island  
  
Ryuoku slammed his teeth into the apple with as much force as his jaw could muster. It was good. He finally found food, and he didn't waste any time in devouring it to the core.  
  
It was a strange thing. Ever since he fell threw the black void, he could actually feel pain, and be hungry inside a game. Ryuoku had landed on an island, and there didn't seem to be any way off of it.  
  
**FLASH BACK**  
  
Ryuoku fell out of the void, and into a tropical climate. It was warm and sunny. The perfect vacation spot. He could see sand as it drew closer to him. Hopefully the fall breaker wouldn't hurt too badly.  
  
How wrong he was in hoping this. As he hit the ground, Ryuoku felt rather then heard his back crack. He hadn't broken anything, but it hurt. The pain was so intense; he was delayed in moving his face from the burning coals that were grains of sand.  
  
He couldn't even breathe through the sand. Ryuoku choked in the welcoming air when he finally managed to roll over onto his back. The pain grew more intense. As he looked, Ryuoku saw his own health bar was down. From reflex, he used a healing potion.  
  
Immediately the pain in his back vanished.  
  
So weird, he thought.  
  
Ryuoku stood up, and looked at his surroundings. He was standing on a small beach with two rocky hills on each side. In front of him, were a few trees, and a small circle of what looked like snow.  
  
Snow? That didn't make any sense at all. He stumbled towards it, only to become instantly cold. He backed away from it slowly, and ran around it. On the other side, his stomach rumbled.  
  
He was hungry, and there didn't seem to be anything to eat around the island. Time passed, and he grew hungrier. He soon collapsed on the beach.  
  
He opened his eyes, and saw whom he knew was Aura standing over him.  
  
"This is the only thing I can do for you right know. Please... understand my meaning. Rescue the one who awakened me. 'Suffering' is the last key. Understand this, you must go to 'Lost Eternal Suffering'! Hurry!" she said in her whispery voice.  
  
Ryuoku struggled to grasp what she just said. The first two words she said. He could have sworn that he heard the wavemaster in the capsule say them. But if they were keywords then....  
  
"Wait! What server!?" Ryuoku cried as the girl began to fade away.  
  
"Destruction," Aura whispered before fading away completely.  
  
Ryuoku just sat in the void for a while, and then saw an apple tree in the distance. Slowly the blackness faded, and Ryuoku saw that he was awake again. What was going on? He ran over to the tree, and plucked an apple from its branches.  
  
**GAME**  
  
"Where... am I?" he asked himself, and then plucked another apple from the tree as calm winds blew across the beach.  
  
* * *  
  
Varuchio glared at the screen. This had gone too far. The five players had to be stopped.  
  
"I want them stopped," he said quietly, and then started to yell. "I WANT THEM STOPPED NOW!" He slammed his fist down on a button, and then laughed.  
  
The five of them who had defeated phases were still warping. Now, however, they were warping to his destination, not theirs. He laughed harder, and watched the scene unfold.  
  
* * *  
  
Sharie was the first to arrive at their new field. She gasped at what she saw, and just somehow knew that Ryuoku wouldn't be here. Something was wrong, and she didn't like it.  
  
The others soon gated in, and all gasped as well. They were in a giant maze of plain walls. They were in a labyrinth.  
  
Cheetra choked on the news that there were two paths. Neither one differed from the other, and she was completely confused.  
  
"Since there are two paths for us to take," Subaru mentioned. "Perhaps it would be wisest to separate into two groups?"  
  
"I don't know," fretted Kenshi. "What if one group goes down the wrong path and gets lost?"  
  
Sharie gave him a sly smile. "From what I see," she started. "We have two people who know Rai Rom in the group. Subaru, because of her strong equipment, and Tsukazi. Since the walls aren't too high, then Rai Rom will be noticeable from another end of the maze."  
  
"I get it!" said Tsukazi. "If one group finds an exit, then they would cast Rai Rom on the ground continually until the other group could navigate to it!"  
  
"Right!" said Sharie. "And as we walk, we'll walk in straight rows. While we're walking, we'll each drag our weapon in a straight line. Since it's a dirt ground that would leave a visible line. That way, when the group of two finds the exit, then cast Rai Rom, the group of three just has to look for the set of parallel lines to finish the journey, and vise versa!"  
  
"Okay," Cheetra said. "Now what'll the groups be?"  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuoku sat on the beach. Night had fallen, and he could tell he was growing tired. He thought he was seeing static. Wait...was he tired? No, he didn't think so. He was actually seeing static!  
  
Red letters flashed across his screen. When they were still, they spelled out: Phase Seven: Sea Travos: The Terrorization of Loneliness.  
  
Ryuoku jumped to his feet as the static cleared, only to see that the island had changed.  
  
"Oh my god."  
  
The few trees had turned black, with evil eyes and the long palm leaves turned into king cobras. The sand had actually turned into burning coals, and Ryuoku's health slowly dropped by standing on it. The cliffs turned into two giant squids, and kicked off into the see. Four red fire lines stretched up what was left of the half-square beach. Two gaping holes appeared just above the two trees in the center. If you were to look at it from the sky, you would see a skull. The nose would be the two demon trees, the eyes would be the holes, and teeth formed by fire line.  
  
Ryuoku dodged the sparks being flung at him from the fires. Something was happening that shouldn't be. He cast Ol Repth for the fourth time before running. Without looking, he ran into one of the trees.  
  
Two branch arms grabbed him, and he saw drool leak from one of the cobra's mouths. A mouth of fangs actually started to form on the trunk, and Ryuoku was being shoved into it.  
  
A tongue wrapped itself around his middle, slightly cutting off his air supply. It pulled him closer to the looming darkness of its mouth.  
  
"Damn-it!" he choked through gasps of air. The being soon swallowed him, and his world went black.  
  
* * *  
  
Sharie ran through the maze with her partner, Subaru. It was getting darker in the maze. Somehow, whatever light force had been lighting their way before was fading away. They wouldn't be able to see soon.  
  
Enemy after enemy ran after them. They tried to avoid most of the fights, but couldn't escape all of them. Sharie and he friend had to occasionally battle.  
  
The battle level must have been high in the field, for the monsters were level seventy at the least. If Subaru died, Sharie would soon after.  
  
In one of the battles (consisting of three Jealous Cobras) Sharie was charmed. She figured it would were off before too much damage could be done, because they were out of Restoratives and had to wait for all effects to were off.  
  
Her assault on Subaru halted when the Axeman was almost out of life. She was about to use a Healing Elixir when Sharie was charmed again. She took another swing out of Subaru, and to her horror, killed her only hope of survival. At only level twenty, she knew that she would soon be gone.  
  
* * *  
  
Varuchio laughed to himself in his office. This was definitely a better show then he could have ever imagined. His rivals would soon be gone, and Ryuoku's fear was about to finally kick in.  
  
Life was perfect right now for him. A little to perfect. Things were going so well for him, he didn't realize that Tsukasa had opened his eyes. It was only briefly, and he soon lost consciousness before being able to think, but that meant his permanent sleep tank wasn't perfect. And if given the right tap, could shatter.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuoku didn't understand it. He was awake, but wasn't he just eaten? He was in his house, and was just ordinary Ryu again. He sat on his bed, remembering his friends. When he got out of this place, he would have them for support, and he would know that he was never alone.  
  
The phone rang. Ryu went to run for it, and realized that his feet were smaller, and couldn't run as fast. He was five, and very independent. Now that he thought about it, the world was still faintly new, and all over the message boards were posts about a troublesome wavemaster named Tsukasa who had a run in with the crimson knights.  
  
Tsukasa! Wasn't that the name of Subaru's missing friend? And Subaru! Oh how he remembered everything. Lady Subaru of the Crimson Knights. It all made since.  
  
Ryu remembered the phone, and had to use a stool in order to reach it. As he picked it up and answered with the usual 'Hiyaki residence, Ryu speaking, who may I ask is calling?' he heard comical sobbing.  
  
"R-Ryu," choked a feminine voice. "Come over to the hospital across the street. You need to know something about your father."  
  
"M-Mom?" asked a worried Ryu.  
  
"H-Hurry," There was a click, and the line went dead. Wasn't the hospital across the street from him where his mother had been staying the past few days?  
  
He walked out of the apartment building, and into the down pouring rain. He ran across the street into the hospital. Why did this look so familiar to him?  
  
The hospital's automatic door slid open, and the smell of medicine dug its way up Ryu's nostrils. A nurse with hair covering one half of her face glanced at him sadly. Her purple lipstick covered lips told him to follow her.  
  
Ryu was worried, and hastily followed. Desperate to know what his mother had been hiding, and where his father had been the last few days. He ran after the nurse, and started to feel dread.  
  
* * *  
  
Sharie saw Subaru struggle to breathe, and Subaru knew how Tsukasa felt. She finally knew how he had felt when he had died. She knew what death was, and hated it. It made her stomach turn, and she couldn't focus. The pain slowly died away, and she was on her feet again.  
  
"What happened to me?" asked Subaru.  
  
"I just used a resurrect, that's all," Sharie said uncomfortably. Subaru knew what she was thinking. This girl thought Subaru would hate her for killing her, but Subaru wasn't one to hate.  
  
"Sharie, it's alright," she said sincerely.  
  
"Really?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"Yes," said Subaru. With a final swing, she killed the last Cobra, and they were back on their way through the maze.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryu practically ran to keep up with the nurse. Where was he going?  
  
She stopped in front of a room, and a small tear fell down her cheek. Ryu knew that it was for him. As he walked in, he saw his mother sobbing uncontrollably over someone in a hospital bed.  
  
It was a man. He had many scars, and many of his body parts were in casts. But the face wasn't. The face belonged to-  
  
"Dad!" Ryu cried. He ran over to his dying fathers side. Tears immediately swelled in his eyes.  
  
"Ryu," he said weakly.  
  
"Y-yes?" he choked.  
  
"I need you, to save... "The World," and our world," he said.  
  
"I don't understand,"  
  
"You will son. And...I'm sorry... we didn't play catch last Saturday.  
  
The words hit Ryu's heart like daggers. He had been so desperate to play catch with his dad the last time he saw him on Saturday. Now his father was going to die with regret.  
  
"Don't be," he whispered as fresh tears stung his eyes.  
  
"Good Bye...." He closed his eyes. That was the last time Ryu saw his father awake. He didn't actually die, but went into a deep coma until only a few months prier to his knew version of "The World." His mom gave up on him waking up, and pulled the plug.  
  
Ryu ran out of the hospital, crying. His father had died in a car wreck because someone had cut his breaks. Now Ryu would be all alone in the morning. He ran out into the street, and a car swerved off the road so as not to hit him.  
  
"Watch where you're going ya crazy kid!" growled the driver. Ryu collapsed in the bed of his house, and just cried.  
  
Suddenly he was older, and Ryu couldn't remember what was happening this time. He walked over to the ringing phone, and picked it up.  
  
"Ryu Hiyaki?" said a scratchy voice from the other end.  
  
"Y-yes," answered Ryu recognizing the voice of the hospital clerk.  
  
"Your mother has just...passed on,"  
  
"NO! NO! I WON'T ALLOW THAT!" cried Ryu. Now he was all alone. No one would be there for him anymore. His family was gone, and that was all he had to know.  
  
Mail flashed under his account. Without thinking, Ryu clicked it open. Sharie's face shown out from it. It read: Ryuoku! Be strong! You'll never be alone! We're you friends and we'll never leave you alone! No matter how hard things get!  
  
Four other mails flashed under the account. They were all from his friends, and he knew that he had support. He put on his headset, and logged into the world. He heard the cry of a monster, and saw a snake with a sword through it crumble into pieces.  
  
* * *  
  
The wall in front of Subaru and Sharie crumbled. Standing in front of them, they saw Cheetra, Tsukazi, and Kenshi waiting for them. A red gate gleamed on top of a pedestal.  
  
"Great ta see ya!" Sharie exclaimed.  
  
"Ditto," said Tsukazi.  
  
"Oh no! Look! It's Ryuoku and he's unconscious!" exclaimed Subaru, noticing Ryuoku limp body on the ground. They crowded around him, and he slowly got up.  
  
Ryuoku just then realized that he never had logged out, and knew his mother was still in the hospital. They walked up to the gate.  
  
"Good to see all of you guys," he said.  
  
"So how was phase six?" asked Sharie.  
  
"How'd you even know I fought a phase?" demanded Ryuoku.  
  
"I tell you later, but how hard was it?" she asked.  
  
"First of all, it was Phase Seven," said Ryuoku.  
  
"What? No way!" said Sharie.  
  
"Who cares! We're safe, and home free! Let's go!" Cheetra exclaimed. They all ran to the gate, and warped out.  
  
* * *  
  
"Help...me," said a voice. It was trapped, and needed to be rescued. Did anyone care? Yes. Someone would come. It knew that.  
  
**END**  
  
End of chapter! No more Island! I'll update soon. Please Review! BTW, sorry I took a little while. Thanks! 


	17. Mansion

Thanks for reviewing! Please be patient for the delayed updates. I've been so busy lately. Thanks! In reward for waiting, this chapter's going to be pretty long. Again, really sorry for the delayed update.  
  
Mansion  
  
Subaru couldn't believe it. They thought that they were finally out of the nightmare? Of course they would be wrong. Sitting in front of her, instead of the much-wanted sight of Mac Anu, was a mansion.  
  
"How much more of this are we gonna have to deal with!?" exclaimed Sharie. "This just isn't fair! I mean, what did we do anyway?"  
  
"Sharie? When you first visited the girl in the forest, how come you didn't fall down a hole like we did when we were together?" Ryuoku asked.  
  
"Eh? I really have no idea..." replied the heavyblade.  
  
"Maybe someone was throwing the switches?" suggested Tsukazi. Subaru recalled her conversation with Sharie. Maybe there was someone behind this nightmare.  
  
"But then..." started Kenshi. "Why are we here?"  
  
"What do you mean?" slurred Cheetra.  
  
"For each spot we've gone, there's been someone there to help, but who is it this time?" Kenshi answered.  
  
"You don't think it could be that girl, do you? The one we met before we fell?" asked Subaru.  
  
"It most likely is," started Kenshi, "But what is she doing in here?"  
  
Varuchio laughed inwardly to himself as the group tried to figure out his plans. They were hopeless. If only they had even the slightest idea of his true plans.  
  
He thought about this for a little, and the started to glare at the screens in front of him. How had they gotten so far? Someone had to be helping them get to each other. Who installed that escape system?  
  
He sat for a little, and suddenly burst out in laughter. How could he be so stupid? Wasn't he in a virtual hard drive? He could easily edit his own search engine for the rival.  
  
Laughing to himself, he went to work.  
  
The inside of the mansion was...well, just plain horrifying. It was the only way Kenshi could put it. The great hall looked like it would have bee beautiful once, but was horribly different from anything near a formal mansion.  
  
Cobwebs were everywhere, dust was on the ground, and the only thing that wasn't covered in dust was a staircase with a red carpet covering the steps. A broken chandelier hung in the middle of the room. There was only one door in the room, and that was at the top of the stairs.  
  
Kenshi shuddered internally. The place was giving him the creeps. He glanced over at Cheetra. She was smiling broadly.  
  
"Why are you so happy?" asked Kenshi. She looked like she was going to explode with joy.  
  
"Because places this creepy are bound to have some high level monsters!" she beamed.  
  
"So?" Kenshi said slowly. Cheetra turned to face him with a glare.  
  
"SO," she said with annoyance in her voice, "that means that these kinds of places will have high level monsters that give out a truck load of experience!"  
  
Kenshi sighed.  
  
The old wooden stairs creaked beneath his weight as Ryuoku climbed them. The others followed closely behind him. They had decided to go through the only door there.  
  
The entire place made Ryuoku uneasy. Why were they even trying to save this girl? What purpose did she serve to the virus? A thought flashed through his head.  
  
"Sharie," he whispered to the heavyblade behind him.  
  
"Yeah?" She answered back, seeing no reason to whisper.  
  
"Do you remember what that girl said right before we fell into this virtual night mare?"  
  
"Wasn't it something about someone named Varuchio?" she replied. Ryuoku thought for a minute, muttering to himself.  
  
"Varuchio," he whispered under his breath, trying to remember the girl's words. "The creator...!" He suddenly jumped up and startled the rest of the crew.  
  
"The creator of what, exactly?" demanded Cheetra.  
  
"The creator of the virus!" Ryuoku was interrupted by gasps all around. "The creator of the virus! The girl we saw said it was some guy name Varuchio...something-or-other!"  
  
"Varuchio Zespugo," muttered a timid voice. Everyone turned to the back of the group where the voice had come from. It belonged to Kenshi. Seeing all the looks he was getting, he hastily added; "I have a good memory span."  
  
"Then, could you remember this for me? It's probably useless info, but we can never be too careful," Ryuoku said to the blademaster. "Can you remember the keywords Lost, Eternal, Suffering?"  
  
"Lost Eternal Suffering..." he repeated. "Which server?"  
  
"That's the funny part. The person who told me this, said that the server was Destruction," Ryuoku said.  
  
"Yeah right. And who told you this?" Sharie smirked.  
  
"Aura. That's why I'm taking a lead on it." Ryuoku said in defense of himself.  
  
"Aura? Are you serious? The fabled virtual character that gave help to the legendary dot hackers? Get out," Sharie said.  
  
"No, it's true! I've seen a lot of her lately," Ryuoku said. "I even have a mail from her. Subaru? What is it?"  
  
Subaru had fallen to her hands and knees, and stared at the floor.  
  
"It was..." she started.  
  
"Go on..." urged Tsukazi.  
  
"Destruction server was a limited server that appeared for one week in "The World". It was an event. Whoever could find an item using the three new keywords would win five golden gruntys and two silver gruntys as a prize," she started.  
  
"What happened?" asked Cheetra.  
  
"This is what I forgot until now," she whispered.  
  
"You mean that Tsukasa disappeared on this server?" demanded Ryuoku.  
  
"Yes. We were called in because a long arm saw some strange monster that was impossible to defeat, and it had a blue glow around it." She paused for a moment, and then stood up. "The same blue glow as the virus." Subaru looked at the others for a little. "Can you guess the field that monster was spotted at?"  
  
"Lost Eternal Suffering," Kenshi said flatly.  
  
"That field was nothing but a dungeon. We had found a strange door, and were about to open it, when a giant monster came down from the ceiling. It attacked us, and kidnapped Tsukasa." She paused for a second, and her eyes watered. "This is my entire fault. If I hadn't asked An to play again, she'd still be safe," She sobbed for a little, but quickly wiped them away, desperate not to let her emotions get in the way of her job.  
  
She thought a little. "Destruction server looked a little like..." Subaru was interrupted by an omnipresent voice. The owner of the voice appeared on a screen above the door they were headed to.  
  
"Like Net Slum," said the voice.  
  
"Helba!" cried Subaru in surprise as the hacker appeared in the screen.  
  
"I've been helping you for a while now on this twisted game Varuchio is pulling." Helba paused. She looked around the amount of the haunted house that she could see, and continued. "It is not safe here for me to reveal any more of what I know. I shall e-mail your accounts with more information. Until then, this is all I can help you with."  
  
"What exactly can you help us with in this place? Are you gonna find us a way out or somethin'?" Sharie demanded.  
  
"Now now, don't be too hasty for answers young Sharie. This entire mansion is loaded with traps, tricks, and puzzles. That is what I can help you with. Unfortunately, I will have to be a little vague on what you have to do." Helba paused again. "For the first puzzle, which is in this room, every place has more than one exit."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" demanded Tsukazi.  
  
"I believe your blademaster will be able to help you with these." Helba countered, indirectly answering his question. "For the second, watch the ceiling. The third one, thickness is a very uncertain prospect. In the fourth puzzle, what is the correct response?"  
  
"Hold on," Ryuoku started, "how are we supposed to remember all of this?"  
  
"Don't worry; I've got it all so far." Kenshi answered in place of Helba.  
  
"The fifth is a strategy game, and the last puzzle," she paused, giving Kenshi a chance to prepare for an obviously very long clue. "The sixth is to find the real one of the enemies, and to give it what it wants. Good luck,"  
  
"Wait," said Cheetra, "How did Varuchio know to plant all of these traps?"  
  
"For a moron, he knows how to plan ahead. He knew that this girl is the key to him, and that you would eventually come for her. All though you may not know it, She is important. Do not let her out of your grasp. Good luck," With that, Helba disappeared from the now black screen.  
  
"What know?" asked Kenshi. "Should we look for the puzzle?"  
  
"I don't know." Ryuoku said, and then reached for the handle of the dark door. He pushed it open with his weight, and toppled out of view.  
  
Varuchio had turned off the screens that he watched his enemies in when the girl in blue started to cry. It was getting way too emotional. His search engine needed the screens anyway.  
  
"Now," he started, a dark smile creeping over his weary features. "It begins,"  
  
His fist smashed the flashing blue button on the control panel, and the search began. Names and pictures of possible culprits flashed by his screen in split seconds, and deleted those who it could not possibly be.  
  
As the number of names began to decrease, his anticipation grew. Finally, after only a few seconds that seemed like hours to Varuchio, the finale two culprits appeared.  
  
"Really likely," Varuchio smirked as the name of one of his rivals appeared with no photo. "Who else is here?"  
  
Varuchio clicked a button on his control panel, and the face of Helba appeared.  
  
"That little-!" The rest of his violent retaliation to the news was cut short as he warped out of his office. The area of where Helba currently was was located in the bottom right hand side of her profile. Under her current server, was listed Destruction.  
  
"Ryuoku!" cried Sharie out of concern for her comrade as he toppled out of view. She ran to the now dark hole where the door once was. He had just plummeted out of view.  
  
"Ryuoku!" she cried again. He wasn't gone. That she swore to herself was impossible, and yet, something inside her grew into a horrible dread.  
  
"Do you think he..." Kenshi started, uncertain of what to say exactly. "Might have died?"  
  
"Don't ever say that!" roared Sharie, although the doubt was of her own words creped into her voice no matter how hard she tried not to let them. "He's not gone."  
  
She tried to convince herself, but was failing. She felt a lump in her throat, and she knew what it meant. She tried to swallow it, and it hurt; but it still somehow managed to reach her eyes, and she started to sob unevenly.  
  
"Sharie," Subaru soothed. She walked over to the girl and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder.  
  
Sharie's mind raced. Was he really gone? Before she could tell him how she had really felt about him. She had been growing close to him lately, and now she would never know if he cared about her.  
  
Tears fell freely from her eyes, and she no longer tried to hold them back. A few splashed on to something just out of view from the light of the hole.  
  
It was a heavyaxeman, struggling to keep hold of the rock he had grabbed on the way down, all the same; he was enjoying the show above him. So this is how they would feel had he been gone. A sly grin slid across his face.  
  
"Hey, if you'd miss me if I was gone, then why don't you pull me up and save yourself the grief?" Ryuoku's voice echoed up from the hole.  
  
"Ryuoku?" asked Sharie uncertainly. "Is that you?"  
  
"Why don't we find out?" asked Tsukazi. He took a few steps forward, and cast Rai Rom in the hole. A single bolt of lightning illuminated the darkness. Ryuoku was hanging on to a single rock sticking out of the wall.  
  
"Ryuoku!" Sharie said in surprise. Her tears dried, and she threw herself into the hole as Ryuoku began to slip. As she grasped Ryuoku's hand, she realized that nothing was holding her up, and that she herself would plummet to her death. Cursing herself for letting her emotions take over her actions, she waited for the painful drop down the hole.  
  
It never came. Something was around her ankles, and so she was alive.  
  
Subaru instinctively grabbed the heavyblades's ankles when she jumped. Then sighed at the weight of two "virtual" people. She couldn't keep her ground, and was expecting to fall in too.  
  
Tsukazi grabbed Subaru around the waist when she lost her footing, and was quickly supported by Cheetra who wrapped her arms around his gut. Kenshi cautiously gripped on to Cheetra, and together, they pulled out Ryuoku and Sharie from the hole.  
  
"Puzzle one," panted Kenshi. "Found."  
  
"But where is the other...!" Cheetra started, but stopped; and stared in disbelief at the small door hidden roughly behind a potted plant that they hadn't noticed before. "How did we miss that?"  
  
"I don't know," answered Kenshi, staring at where her gaze was locked. "But I'll bet that's the other exit that Helba hinted about."  
  
"Well, let's go." With that, Ryuoku walked over to the plant, and shoved it aside. He was still the first to open the door, but he didn't put even half of his wait into opening it.  
  
The next room was dark, and Cheetra couldn't see a thing. There was a faint glowing in the distance, but that was all. The group walked over to it slowly. As she neared it, Cheetra saw that it was a giant star with five pints. On each point was a circle with a symbol burning in it. On was lit up, and on it were depicted two doors.  
  
Each other symbol was of something that matched one of Helba's clues. The second point had a ceiling drawn on it. The third had an arrow drawn pointing both up and down, depicting thickness. The fourth was covered in question marks, and the fifth was blank. Other then the symbols, only two doors were visible.  
  
"What now?" asked Kenshi.  
  
"How about, we split into two groups, and each take a different door?" suggested Ryuoku.  
  
"Alright," said Sharie.  
  
"Okay, Tsukazi, Sharie, and myself will take the first door. Subaru, you'll go with Kenshi and Cheetra." Ryuoku said.  
  
"Done," said Subaru dismissively, and with that, they walked in their groups to the separate doors.  
  
A large number was printed on each door. The first one had a two, while the other had a three. The first door opened with ease, while the other one required a little work do to rusted bolts. Subaru wished Ryuoku and his group luck with their challenges, and walked out of view from the other three, and so Ryuoku lead his group into the second puzzle.  
  
Watch the ceiling as Helba's clue said, and so the walked down the hall that appeared in front of them with the opening door, and into the main hallway.  
  
The main hall had a floor like a checkerboard. No one could see the ceiling in the endless void of darkness swelling up in the ceiling.  
  
"I don't understand her clue," moaned Ryuoku. "Why didn't we take Kenshi with us?" He walked out into the main hall. He immediately felt air rushing down on him.  
  
"What is that?" asked Ryuoku.  
  
"The ceiling!" cried Sharie as she saw the matching checker-ceiling fall from wherever it had been placed at light speed. She slammed her eyes shut, as the ceiling crashed onto the marble floor.  
  
Subaru was the first to walk on to the crystal floor. It was a mysterious place. The floor looked like it was made out of tons of glass bricks cemented together horizontally, and then spray-painted black.  
  
What did these things have to do with thickness? Could it be the thickness of the glass? The first brick seemed pretty solid.  
  
Kenshi and Cheetra walked casually onto the first brick with her.  
  
"What does thickness have to do with this place?" asked Cheetra.  
  
"I don't know," replied Kenshi uncertainly.  
  
"What ever it means, we'll find out soon enough," Subaru said, and then walked onto the second platform. The glass immediately groaned under her weight, and cracked. She jumped to the side of the panel just before a loud crunch met her ears as the platform shuttered into destruction.  
  
Subaru's sigh of relief was greeted with another groan from the third glass panel she had landed on. She knew what would happen should she stay there for long, and quickly pulled herself to her feet. She lunged towards the first glass brick as the third gave way, and just managed to make it.  
  
Gasping, she whispered, "I think I know what the third puzzle is."  
  
"I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I've been crushed by the ceiling, Ohhhh, I'm dead!" Ryuoku muttered to himself when he heard the crash of the ceiling. He held his head in his hands and was crouched onto his knees.  
  
He slowly stood up and saw that he wasn't dead. The ceiling had crashed down, but there where holes in it. Actual holes! One of them saved his life!  
  
He saw Sharie standing in the hallway still with her hands grasped tightly over her mouth. The initial shock of what had just happened was still sinking in.  
  
"I know what the second puzzle is! Want me to let you know?" joked Ryuoku.  
  
How is he laughing, thought Sharie, when he just almost died?  
  
"So we should just dive from hole to hole in order to make it across!" exclaimed Tsukazi. "I'll illuminate the dark ceiling with a lightning ability and we can make it across!"  
  
"Alright!" cheered Ryuoku. With that, they started their way across the room.  
  
Subaru lead her team across the dangerous glass. Before each panel, she would slam it hard with the bottom side of her axe. If a panel cracked, then they would walk around it. Using this process, they made it across the room, to a door labeled with a four.  
  
"Looks like we get problem four," commented Kenshi.  
  
"What was Helba's clue for this door?" asked Subaru.  
  
"It was 'what is the correct response'," recited Kenshi.  
  
"Then it looks like we might have to answer questions." Cheetra said.  
  
"So let's go," said Subaru. She pushed the door open, and a dark room with a single door met her eyes.  
  
Here's the question!  
  
The voice was so loud and so sudden that Kenshi was thrown to the ground.  
  
Looks like we have a volunteer to answer it!  
  
The voice blasted again, and Kenshi felt his throat go dry as his vision of his friends melted away into nothingness.  
  
How they made it across the room with a ceiling that was threatening to crush them with every step, Sharie would never know. All she knew was that she was panting from the mad dash that they made to the hallway at the end of the slamming ceiling.  
  
The last few feet of the room had caused a doorway to appear not to far away from the group. Ryuoku saw that the ceiling was still rising for another plummet, and suggested that they run to the final hallway.  
  
"Are you nuts?!" was Sharie's protest, but she was drowned out by Tsukazi's answer of, "We'd better hurry!" So they sprinted across the marble floor in haste.  
  
The door was still far away when Sharie heard the 'click' sound that the ceiling made when it was ready to fall. Two more tiles and she heard the 'chung-clink' of the ceiling locks being released. Three more tiles where gained in Sharie's haste before she felt the air being pushed down on her from the ceiling. Another six tiles and she were at the door, and she only had time for three.  
  
Ryuoku and Tsukazi had already pushed the door open, and had run into the safety of the hallway. Five tiles before she reached the door. Tsukazi reared around saw that Sharie still had a good distance between death and safety. Three tiles. She had managed another tile.  
  
Two tiles were left, and the ceiling crashed down.  
  
Ryuoku stared in puzzlement, as Sharie was still standing. There had been a hole right where she was standing. The ceiling started to rise again, and Sharie dove into the hallway.  
  
After she caught her breath, she stood up to see Ryuoku grinning at her.  
  
"Some fun, huh?" remarked Ryuoku, and Sharie wanted to hit him.  
  
Helba sat quietly in her office. She knew that someone was coming. She just never bothered to care. It was probably Varuchio. It was about time that he found her office.  
  
"Let the game," she began, "Begin."  
  
Varuchio reared around the corner sharply, and banged his elbow on the virtual corner. Pain immediately surged through his whole arm, but he paid no mind to it. He had grown used to pain in cyber-space.  
  
He burst into Helba's office without thinking. All he saw in the circular room were several screens much like his own in his office, and a large office chair, like one that the boss of a company might have. Sitting in it was,  
  
"Helba!" roared Varuchio. "How dare you meddle in my plans!"  
  
"Well," she began as she turned the chair around to face him before standing up. "What did you expect me to do as you savagely destroyed the entire population of the world, hm? Sit back and watch?"  
  
"How dare you talk to me like that!" growled Varuchio.  
  
"Or else what?" smirked Helba. "This is an online game. I can go anywhere I want, and not care who I get angry,"  
  
"You little-!" Varuchio gritted his teeth. "I'll get you!" He leaped into the air in hopes of catching her.  
  
"Ta-ta," Helba said, dragging out each word. She warped out of her office in a shower of yellow rings.  
  
Varuchio landed on the hard metal floor from his leap. He quickly pulled himself up, and stared at Helba's computer screen. His mouth ran dry and his eyes grew wide at what he saw on the blue monitor. On the screen, was a five second countdown that had just began, and on the bottom in little yellow letters was the word, 'self-destruct'.  
  
"Whaaaaa!" screamed Kenshi as he fell into the dark abyss. What was happening? Where was he going? Nothing made sense anymore.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity of falling, he landed on a hard metal floor. He rubbed his head, and sat up.  
  
Kenshi ended up in a circular room. As soon as he arrived, lights flickered on. He was standing on a floor made up of eight metal panels that were apparently being pushed together by something in the wall.  
  
Are you ready?  
  
There was that voice again. What was it doing? What was its purpose?  
  
"Ready for what?" Kenshi asked, looking around wildly for the source of the voice.  
  
Your first question is...  
  
"No, wait, stop!" cried Kenshi in despair.  
  
How many members can you have in your party at a time in "The World"?  
  
"That's it? This is all I have to answer?" asked Kenshi in puzzlement.  
  
Your answer is... "That's it? This is all I have to answer?"... Incorrect.  
  
"No! That wasn't my answer!" exclaimed Kenshi. The floor beneath his feet opened a little to reveal something red under his platform. "What is that?" he asked himself. He examined it a little closer, and saw that it was lava.  
  
If he answered too many questions wrong, he would die.  
  
There was a checkered floor much like the chess board design on the marble floor of the ceiling crashing room. There were many paintings of various pictures depicting different forms of "The World" monsters. On a few of the paintings were drapes designed like the type in a mansion. There were torch holders every few feet or so that flickered merrily with crackling fires. It was the hallway after the second puzzle, and it was in this hallway that Sharie walked in deep thought.  
  
What was happening to her? Her feelings towards Ryuoku. After the incident, she promised never again to...dare she even think of it? No, she couldn't be, could she? Because of that incident two years ago.  
  
FLASH BACK  
  
Crystal sat on her porch expectantly. She was only fourteen, and to her, life was always a sunny day. She had just gotten a phone call from her boyfriend. They had been dating for five months now. He said that he would be right over.  
  
The first cloud appeared only a few moments after the call. It was just a plain and fluffy white cloud, that in Crystal's mind looked like a heart. Fifteen minutes past, and it started to drizzle.  
  
Splash.  
  
Crystal looked up from her feet to see her boyfriend walking up to her slowly. His usual pace.  
  
"Shane," she started lightly. "Your late you know!" Crystal put on a faint mocking voice. Fifteen year-old Shane grinned lightly.  
  
"So, am I grounded?" he asked leisurely.  
  
"Don't use that tone of voice with me!" she joked. Shane laughed, and then scooped her up into a quick hug.  
  
"Want ta come over to my place? We could play "The World"," Shane offered.  
  
"Alright, lemme just grab my coat," she said, and then Shane said something strange.  
  
"Are you alright Sharie?" he asked in a voice not his,  
  
"What?" Crystal asked, confused.  
  
"I asked if you were alright,"  
  
The incorrect voice came again, and she was snapped back to cold reality.  
  
PRESENT  
  
"Are you alright?" the voice asked again, and Sharie nodded. Her memories of the past sometimes let her get carried away.  
  
"You've just been quiet for so long, it's not like you," added Tsukazi.  
  
"Just thinking," she said. The two accepted the answer, and shrugged it off. Sharie looked back at her feet, and drifted away again.  
  
FLASH BACK  
  
"Here we go, user name Tycoon, and password Storm," Shane commented as he typed in his password.  
  
"Silly name," Crystal said.  
  
"Well, I'm going to give you this account, and my copy of "The World," Shane said.  
  
"How?" asked Crystal.  
  
"Done," Shane said, and handed her a disc.  
  
"Wow," she started. "That was fast,"  
  
"Oh crud," Shane moaned.  
  
"What is it?" asked Crystal, a little confused.  
  
"I left my jacket on your porch. I'll just go grab it," Shane said. Crystal smiled affectionately, and he gave her a short kiss good bye before running out into the pouring storm and running down and across the street.  
  
Crystal really loved him, and started to get worried after half-an hour. She walked out onto the porch, and saw him just across the street. He started to run across.  
  
Maybe if the thunder hadn't boomed at that precise second, he would have heard the truck's horn. Maybe if it hadn't been raining so heavily, then Shane wouldn't have tripped. There were a lot of maybes, but there was still the same result that Crystal witnessed. The truck couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting the figure lying on the road, and Crystal screamed.  
  
Crystal spent the next seven months of her life in mourning. The one person she had trusted her heart with, had left her. At that moment, she had forgotten how to love. All she felt was hate. Hate at the truck driver, and hate at her, for not seeing the truck for Shane.  
  
The Hate eventually died, but she never learned to love again. Not even the unconditional love of a parent remained in her heart. She remained unattached to anyone.  
  
It was one fated day that she reached in her pocket, and found the disc that Shane gave her. She used his file, and through that, learned to have friends. She learned how to be friendly, but she never let anyone close enough to hurt her if they left her life.  
  
It wasn't that much later that she started her own account at the age of sixteen. She gave it a name named as a female version of Shane in her book. She was Sharie from then on. It was soon after that, that she met him.  
  
He was an obvious new-be, just standing around awkwardly, but something about him sparked an interest. Something that reminded her of Shane, and she gave her false smile to him, to mask the emptiness of her heart, and she got Ryuoku's member address in return.  
  
PRESENT  
  
Kenshi looked at the now growing hole in front of him. He had about two more chances left. The first three he said indirect answers, and was rewarded with an opening that now almost filled the room.  
  
One more chance! There was...  
  
"I've had enough! I'm a blademaster! I can make my own exit!" Kenshi cried, and slammed his blade into the wall. To his surprise, it easily broke apart, and he jumped into the room next to him, and almost jumped for joy when he saw Subaru and Cheetra waiting for him in front of the number six.  
  
"Number six," he started.  
  
"The final puzzle," Cheetra finished, and all three of them walked in.  
  
"Number five," started Ryuoku. "Alright!"  
  
"Let's go," said Tsukazi, and they walked in.  
  
Sharie looked at the surroundings of 'a strategy'. There was a board on a small table in the middle of the room. On the other side was a machine.  
  
Welcome to the strategy game of puzzle number five, said a smooth and cool voice. You must now play Monopoly against this computer. However, you may only go around the board once. If any one of you passes the amount of money needed to beat the computer, you may move on to the next room.  
  
Without hesitation, the trio quickly sat down. Trap or not, they needed to escape. In the end, they each had a piece and started out with fifteen hundred dollars. Share was the car, Ryuoku was the hat, and Tsukazi was the dog. They were only allowed one die to roll.  
  
After a few turns, they had all managed to scrounge up a few properties, and, thanks to the one die, managed to make monopoly's and build houses. Tsukazi got three hundred more, Sharie six hundred, and Ryuoku made an even one thousand more. The machine managed to double it money.  
  
Tsukazi rolled again, and bought Park place and Boardwalk, and got hotels on them both. Sharie and Ryuoku threw the game to make it to boardwalk, giving Tsukazi another four thousand dollars. He had a large sum. The Machine couldn't even beat it. The door behind the opened, and they all walked through.  
  
"How anti-climactic," said Ryuoku in a groan.  
  
"Oh cheer up, where in the sixth puzzle," said Sharie, and surprised herself as she couldn't tare her gaze away from him.  
  
Cheetra was the first to see them walk in, and quickly showed Ryuoku's team the final puzzle. There were seven statues of the seven phases in front of them.  
  
"Alright, who has any idea what to do?" asked Subaru, and every one stared at Kenshi.  
  
"Well, I think that we want to give the statue that we haven't encountered yet what it wants." Kenshi said.  
  
Everyone pointed out their statue, and they all huddled around the seventh.  
  
CAST RAI ROM ON ME it boomed. Tsukazi obeyed, and it shattered, revealing. A door.  
  
Sharie was the first to step through, and tears of joy formed on her face as she saw a normal chaos gate, and the black haired girl standing in front of it. When Ryuoku walked in, she ran to him.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered.  
  
"For what?" asked Ryuoku soothingly.  
  
"For everything that I've done," she replied. The group shrugged it off, and walked over to the chaos gate, knowing for a fact, that there was the long awaited sight of Mac Anu on the other side of it.  
  
END  
  
Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry! For the delayed update. Please don't stop reading because I was a little late. I'll be quicker with the next chapter, I promise. Please review! 


	18. Demonstration

Thanks for reviewing! And thanks for still sticking with the story after the delayed update.  
  
Demonstration  
  
Wind whipping past his face, and the feeling of it still uneasy for him. The thought of having feeling inside a game, even wind as he warped to the next stop was still strange. The feeling slowly left. The wind was still blowing, but he couldn't feel it anymore. This was turning back into a game for him, and Ryuoku couldn't have been happier.  
  
His feet suddenly touched solid ground, and he could see his surroundings. He was in Mac Anu, and he felt something. It wasn't something in the game; it was something in his hands. His real hands. It was the controller. He was back to reality.  
  
"We're back," Sharie started. "We finally escaped that nightmare. It's over."  
  
"I'm going to log out," Cheetra said, and Tsukazi nodded in agreement. They both disappeared from the online game.  
  
"Isn't this great, Ryuoku?" asked Sharie. "We can log out now."  
  
"Yeah," said Ryuoku. "But what about the girl?"  
  
Sharie looked to Ryuoku's left, and saw the little girl. The very one they had rescued from the mansion. How had she forgotten her?  
  
"Is that little girl a PC?" asked Sharie. "Or an NPC?"  
  
"I'm neither," said the girl. Ryuoku stared. "I'm just a code created for...something," The girl obviously couldn't remember what.  
  
"So what now?" asked Ryuoku. "Do we just log off?"  
  
"Please don't leave me alone," whimpered the girl. Ryuoku felt a little bad for her.  
  
"You two log out," Kenshi stated. "I can't log out, so I'll just keep an eye on her until you play again."  
  
"Oh," Ryuoku started, surprised at the offer. "Thanks," With that, he and Sharie logged off for the first time in a while.  
  
Varuchio knew the girl was with them now. She was the key to his whole plan, besides Tsukasa, and with her in the enemy's grasp, his plan might fail.  
  
"That won't happen," he calmly whispered. "My plan still has many stages left."  
  
He threw a switch in his office, and hoped that his annoying enemies wouldn't be able to stop him this time. He'd worked to hard for it to fail this time.  
  
Mail flashed on someone's computer. They opened it, knowing the sender.  
  
:::::::: Hey! It's me again. Did you hear about this knew item for sale? Some strange guy in a blue coat and a funny top-hat is selling an item that will increase your level big time, and even raise all your stats to max! I know it sounds funny, but he's all over the massage boards! He's even giving an exclusive demonstration to individual players! They get it for free! You should check it out! :::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Ryu stood up from his laptop. He was finally out of "The World". Maybe things were going to get better after all. Then he remembered.  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
"...She was shot in the gut," said the scratchy voice.  
  
PRESENT  
  
His mother was in the hospital. That was the reason why he had to get even with the person responsible. The van that he saw outside his house that day had the CC Corp. logo on the side, yet he still believed that their was another reason for his mothers accident, if it could even be called such.  
  
He needed someone who knew this game well. Someone who might be able to help him. Without thinking twice, he sent an e-mail to Kite.  
  
Crystal stood up from her terminal. It was good to be back in the real world. It was then she realized that the pain in her chest was gone. The one she had been holding onto. The pain that belonged to her grief over the loss of Shane. Was Ryuoku helping her through this?  
  
Why had Shane been picked that day? Why was he gone from her life? The nagging questions never showed in the void where the pain used to be. The questions that had haunted her her whole life.  
  
Maybe things will turn out better now, she thought as she stroked the back of her cat, which purred delightfully. Deciding that she would try to fix her emotions, Crystal walked into her kitchen with a smile.  
  
A female blademaster warped to the field where her friend had told her of that special item. The man her friend described was right in front of her.  
  
"Are you the one with the item?" asked the girl.  
  
"Yes," he said in a deep voice. "Are you her for my, demonstration?" He said the last word in a strange tone, but the girl still accepted.  
  
"Good," he said flatly. "Here you go," He pulled out a beaker with a cork stuck in the top. Inside in was a blue mess of something with ones and zeros in it.  
  
Subaru stood in the center of a boat in Mac Anu as it drifted down the waterway. The boat creaked gentle under her light weight. It was times like these that she remembered.  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
Silver Knight was bent down in a kneel in front of Subaru. The topic of the troublesome wavemaster was very serious. He had actual ignored the Crimson Knights, all over some stupid Cat player.  
  
Silver Knight stood, and looked at the corner of land visible to him. There was the wavemaster, staring into the river of the city. He looked up, and ran at the sight of Silver Knight. Silver Knight's eyes flashed dangerously, alarming Subaru.  
  
"It is not always easy," started Silver Knight. "To act in the name of justice,"  
  
PRESENT  
  
Before she had met Tsukasa. What a time that was. The idea seemed foreign to her, to have thought that Tsukasa was just another outlaw playing "The World" in his spare time.  
  
"What should I do, Tsukasa?"  
  
Then Subaru realized the answer to her own question. She had to write a mail to Helba.  
  
Kenshi stared into the night sky of the root town Dun Loireag. The girl was next to him.  
  
"So," started Kenshi. "Why didn't you want to be alone?"  
  
"Because," she whispered. "I'm afraid he'll find me."  
  
"Who?" asked Kenshi.  
  
"The one who created me," the girl indirectly answered.  
  
"Who's that?" Kenshi asked, feeling a little foolish.  
  
"He is an evil man. The one who created the virus,"  
  
"Varuchio?!" cried out Kenshi in surprise.  
  
The man pulled the cork out of the beaker. The blue substance flew out of it, and immediately infected the girl, for it was virus. Her screams filled the field, but no one could here them.  
  
Ryu heard the familiar ping of mail the next morning. One was from Sharie, and the other was from CC Corp. He clicked open Sharie's first.  
  
Sender: SharieSubject: Did you here?!  
  
::::::::::: Ryuoku! Did you here about this guy? He's selling some strange item that'll give you a major power boost! He's giving a demonstration of its abilities, or a free sample, to individual people! Imagine how that could help in the future fight! I'm going to Sacred, Lost, Remedy in Delta server to get it! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Ryu blinked. "I guess it could help," he whispered. He opened the one from CC Corp. next.  
  
Sender: CC Corporation Administrative StaffSubject: Illegal Item.  
  
::::::::::: To all players of "The World", this item that will max out your stats is illegal and will not be allowed in players. All users of this item will be prosecuted. Many complaints have already been filed about how this item has given out harmful damage to accounts and appears to be connected to the previously mentioned virus. It is also highly recommended that all players discontinue playing "The World". The game will be moved offline in a few days. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
"The Virus?!" Ryuoku gasped. Sharie was in trouble. That "demonstration" was dangerous! She was in trouble. Ryuoku had to help her. He grabbed the controller, and logged in to "The World".  
  
"So," started Kenshi. "If he created you and the virus, then why are you scared of him?"  
  
The girl hugged her knees close to her. Her dark hair covering some of the rags she wore. "Because," she started. "He makes me do something evil."  
  
Kenshi stared at her. "Like what?"  
  
"He makes me spread the virus." Kenshi's eyes opened wide with fear. "He says I can spread the virus, and so I should. But I think he's also afraid of me."  
  
"Why's that?" asked Kenshi, trying to sound calm. It apparently worked because the girl responded.  
  
"If I were to die, or be erased from the program, then so would the virus."  
  
Sharie warped into the field, and saw the man in front of her.  
  
"Are you the man with the item?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," he said sliding out a beaker. "Allow me to demonstrate its advantages,"  
  
Subaru saw Kite log in as she hoped off the small boat. "Kite? Why are you here?"  
  
The twinblade saw her, and smiled. "Because your friend asked me to be."  
  
"Ryuoku?"  
  
"Got it."  
  
"But why did he call you?" she asked.  
  
Kite scratched his head. "That, I don't know." Subaru gave a small laugh.  
  
"Do you think it concerns the new virus?" asked Subaru, remembering her time in the clouds oh too well.  
  
Because Kite was answering, and talking to Subaru, he didn't notice a heavyaxeman logging in. And because that heavyaxeman was so frantic, he didn't notice kite, as he warped to Sacred, Lost, Remedy.  
  
"Are you sure that your item will help?" asked Sharie as the man fumbled with the cork.  
  
"Just wait a second," he said. Then Ryuoku warped in.  
  
"Sharie, no!" screamed Ryuoku, as he swung his axe at the enemy. He took the hit, and fell backwards.  
  
Sharie glared at Ryuoku. "What's you problem?" she demanded.  
  
"That," Ryuoku started, pointing to the beaker on the ground. "Is some of the virus."  
  
"That blue stuff?" Sharie asked, completely startled.  
  
"Yeah, now excuse me a sec,"  
  
Ryuoku picked up the helpless PC. "Why'd you do it?!" he demanded.  
  
"I'm just working for Mr. Varuchio!" he said hastily. "Please, I'll quiet, just leave me alone!"  
  
"What a wimp," Ryuoku said throwing him on the ground as he logged out. "He was scared of an online game,"  
  
Ryuoku solved the last of the problem by using one final Virus Drain on the beaker.  
  
END 


	19. Termination

Thanks for reviewing! New chappy! Unfortunately, I have only three chapters left planned for the series including this one. . Sorry for any inconvenience, but every series has to end eventually. By the way, this time, I have an excuse for a delayed update! I had to go to camp. Well, enjoy.

Termination

The clean halls of the Californian hospital sparkled in the morning light as he walked past the nurse's station. Room 313, third floor. He hadn't been their yet, but his father had told him that that was the room his brother had been checked into.

A nurse smiled and waved at him as he walked to the room. He politely smiled back, but was still upset. Was he alright? Is he still alive? The questions flashed through his head like lightning on a stormy night.

He rounded a sharp left and found his brothers room. Max pushed the door open. To his relief, his brother was fine. Deciding that his brother's best bet to wake up again was to solve the problem in "The World", he turned around and bumped right into a doctor. He had moustache, and wore glasses as black as his hair and eyes.

"Oh, sorry," he whispered.

"That's alright," the doctor replied. It was then that Max saw something sparkle in the sunlight. It was a name tag. Half of his coat was covering it, so all Max could see was:

Corp.

loyee.

The man noticed that Max was staring at the tag, and quickly pulled his coat over the rest of the tag.

"I'll be on my way, now," said the man, and left Max standing in the hall with a puzzled look on his face.

GAME

Tsukazi logged in to the game after getting back from his trip to see his twin.

"Hey, Tsukazi! Over here!"

The voice clanged in Tsukazi's ears, and he turned to see the source to be Ryuoku.

* * *

Ryuoku sat in the middle of Dun Loireag with everyone involved in the incident around him. Sharie was still absorbing some news.

"There going to delete "The World"?" Sharie asked, surprised. "CC Corp. is just going to delete an entire game instead of just solving the problem?"

"That does sound like them," Kite said. He had met up with Ryuoku and Sharie when they warped back to Mac Anu. They gathered everyone and met in Dun Loireag. "To delete anything strange, and since this time, it's "The World", their going to have to get rid of their biggest seller in order to keep up their business."

"But if they delete this game," Subaru began, "Then Tsukasa would,"

"Never awaken again," finished Kite. "And neither would you, Kenshi."

"But," started Kenshi, in fear of simply dieing like that. "Isn't there a way to fix this before CC Corp. can remove the game from online?"

"We'll have to try." Ryuoku said. "But we're going to need everyone in order for this to happen." At his words, they all nodded. "Subaru, can you contact Helba and have her get back Destruction server for a while?"

"I'll try," Subaru said.

"Alright," began Ryuoku. "Everyone else, meet back here tomorrow at the same time." They all nodded again, and logged out. Ryuoku was about to do the same, when he received mail from Aura.

* * *

A man with shining glasses walks into a dark room. He has matted down hair, and a goatee.

"Sir, project Termination has begun." He whispered.

"Good," says a man in a blue suit. "If everything goes well, the no one will be able to trace this back to the game, and everyone, will just assume that a virus ate "The World". No one will know that the comatose victims were caused by the game."

"But is it really necessary to kill them?" asked the man with glasses.

"If anyone traces this back to his branch of CC Corp., then we're out of business."

"For something only one employee did?"

"Yes. Varuchio's twisted plan, sadly, is working. He'll have the entire world inside his little game soon unless we shut it down."

The man with glasses nodded, and quietly walked out of the room to continue his work. Two comatose victims so far in Japan, and one in California, and who knew how many people were in comas, and just haven't been discovered yet? The man closed the door behind him.

* * *

Sender: Aura

Please, you must stop this virus. Time is running out. I have important information about the comatose players. They are in grave danger! Please come to Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground.

Ryuoku read the mail over twice, and then decided that it was better not to waste time. He quickly warped to the designated field.

Bear sat on a bench of the church. Aura had instructed him only recently to come to this field, and so he waited. He heard faint footsteps in the background. He turned around to see a heavyaxemen walking into the building.

"Who are you?" Bear demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing!" said the heavyaxemen defensively.

"Look, I don't know why you are here, but-!"

He was cut off by an echoing voice that surrounded both of them.

"Please, you are not supposed to fight," Aura whispered as she appeared in front of them. "I have called you both here about the coma victims. Bear, he is the one I told you of."

Bear looked over at Ryuoku, and nodded.

"CC Corporation now knows of these victims, and is trying to destroy them."

"What do you mean by that, exactly?" asked Bear.

"They are trying to kill them," she said. Ryuoku stared blankly.

"Bear, you must protect Tsukasa, and Ryuoku, inform Cheetra and Tsukazi to go to their comatose ally."

Ryuoku didn't give it a second thought. He sent mail immediately to Tsukazi and Cheetra. Had he reason to doubt Aura?

"Please, you have very little time left. Defeat Varuchio!" Aura faded into the background, and Bear quickly logged out to go to Tsukasa in the real world. All Ryuoku could do was meet back up with the gang in Dun Loireag in a few hours.

* * *

Cheetra had received the mail from Ryuoku, and quickly logged out. She began running down the steps of her house, and threw the front door open. As she ran down the street, many people stared, but she couldn't care less. Kenshi was in trouble, and that was all that mattered.

As she rounded the corner past the Ramen shop, the hospital crawled into her view. She smiled gratefully as she ran into the parking lot when she saw that no one was there, not even a CC Corp. van.

When she finally made it past the sliding glass doors, her glee shattered. There were two men with white coats and two name tags carefully hidden beneath them. Or so they thought, but Cheetra could read one clearly.

CC Corp.

Employee

* * *

Max ran into the hospital, and took the steps three at a time. He didn't have time to wait for an elevator to come down to him. As he barged into his brother's room, the man with the moustache raced up behind him.

He could see the full tag now, and whished that he couldn't. The "doctor" didn't look too friendly.

* * *

Cheetra pushed pass the CC Corp. workers and they began to charge after her. She had to pull ahead somehow. They were too close for her to work right now. Then an idea flashed into her head.

She ran ahead a few feet, until a door was on both sides of her. She whipped them open, and the two geniuses ran right into them. They faltered a little and Cheetra could pull ahead enough to disappear around a corner.

Then she turned to look behind her, and held up her hands in front of her. _Time for_ _those karate lessons to pay off, _she thought, and smiled.

* * *

Max was cornered in the room. He pushed the guard, and he fell back a little. He called for help, and managed to push the nurse call button before the man regained balance.

He was being held up against the wall of the room by the man. He flipped open a knife.

"They said to destroy all evidence. I guess that means you too." The man whispered, and flashed the knife threateningly. He held it high-

_Clunk._

-and then dropped it, as a nurse put down the vase that she had just clubbed him with. Max took a few deep breaths, and smiled as the nurse called for police. His brother was safe.

* * *

The employees rounded the corner, and were quickly met by a chop to both of them in the neck. The fell to the ground, unconscious, and Cheetra smiled. Kenshi was safe.

She walked into an open janitor's closet, and pulled out a mop. She quickly swabbed the surrounding area, and placed a sign reading; _**Caution! Slippery when wet!**_

She laughed to herself, and then spoke to the unconscious employees. "Looks like you too fell and hit your heads while chasing a '_poor and defenseless little girl'_." She laughed again.

* * *

Bear sat in front of his door. CC Corp. would show up any minute. He held a handgun in his hands. The door rattled, and he stared. It slowly opened, and he stood up. A CC Corp. employee walked in.

"Leave now!" he demanded and the employee came into view.

"R-right away sir!" he stammered. "Man being held at gun shot twice in one week! I should just quit this job." He walked out, and Bear breathed a sigh of relief that he had gotten an employee who cared more about himself then anything.

* * *

Ryu sat at his laptop, as mail flashed under his name. He clicked it open.

Sender: Subaru Subject: Have it.

Alright Ryuoku, I have the server. Only by going through Desperate, Lonely, Wasteland can we get to it though. That way no one else wanders to it. Tell everyone to meet there tomorrow at the meeting. But something troubles me. Aura contacted me, and told me to watch out for phase six. Do you now who Macha is?

Ryuoku stood up in shock. Shock that the cat he talked to was his enemy. But why did he help then? It didn't make any sense at all. Then again, nothing did.

END

Sorry for late update. Next chapter soon. Thanks! And please review!


	20. Distraction

Sorry about the not-updating thing. My computer crashed and I don't have word any more, so it's taking a while to update. Thanks for reviewing.

Distraction

The girl laid on the soft grass, he chest lightly rising and falling as she breathed in deep sleep. Ryuoku and the group sat around her.

"So," started Cheetra. "She was created by Varuchio,"

"And has the power to spread the virus," added Sharie.

"And the power to stop it," finished Ryuoku.

"So, what do we do?" asked Tsukazi. They all sat in silence occasionally exchanging glances.

"You bring the girl to destruction server, and place her in the capsule of the person she was born from."

The voice was so sudden that Ryuoku jumped at the sound of it.

"Helba!" said a startled Subaru as the hacker walked into view.

"What do you mean?" asked Ryuoku, focusing on the topic.

"The girl was created from Tsukasa," Helba said calmly.

"What?!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Allow me to explain," Helba started. "When Tsukasa was trapped in the world, a data file of what kept him here was stored onto him. Varuchio knew of this. He staged a fake complaint to get you and Tsukasa over to where he could grab him, and extract the file to make a new virus.

Subaru stood silently with a look of horror on her face. Ryuoku knew what was going through her mind. She was probably thinking about how Tsukasa would survive something like that.

"We should hurry to Destruction server then!" Cheetra said.

"Alright, let's go," Ryuoku said, and then stared at Helba. "How did you know that?"

"I'm a hacker, how else?" She looked calm and collected, but Ryuoku could tell there was something wrong with her. Shrugging off as just his mind after what had happened, he led the group to the chaos gate, and they warped to the field included in Subaru's e-mail.

* * *

Helba smiled at the group as they left. It was too easy, he thought, as the disguise melted off his body, and Varuchio was standing where Helba had been. The real Helba hadn't been logged on for a while.

Sure he had released some valuable information, but he needed the group to go to Destruction server for his plan to be carried out. They would be annihilated. He would win the game, and soon, the entire earth.

* * *

Aura sat quietly in the field where she was born. The virus storm had totaled it, but that didn't matter. She knew what Varuchio had done. Both of the things. He had lied to Ryuoku by pretending to be Helba to get him to go to Destruction server, and he had sent out an e-mail using a special system to all of the people who haven't been infected by the virus yet.

Ryuoku had to stop him. The mail he had sent had told all players of the world to be logged into the world between the hours of five p.m. to five the next day. If they did, they would receive a special status item. At that time Aura knew what Varuchio would do.

Ryuoku had to hurry. He had to beat the World Wide Virus Storm.

* * *

There was no field, or at least, only the leftovers of one. Basically, everything Ryuoku could see was plain white. A few scrapes of the field remained here and there, but the only thing visible was the entrance to a dungeon. Ryuoku motioned with his hand, and the group followed him hastily away from the empty field.

With each step Ryuoku took, he wished that mom had never purchased the game for him. He whished that his mom didn't work for CC Corp., and he whished that Subaru had never agreed to let Tsukasa come with her to that field.

He remembered when he had first found the axe, and saw the virus for the first time.

FLASHBACK

The tower was small on the outside, and on the inside, the walls were just as plain as the floor and ceiling. Ryuoku was in the middle of a battle.  
  
"Hyaaaa!" cried Ryuoku as he delivered the finishing blow. The monster faded away, and didn't leave enough Exp. for a level up, but he did leave a blue treasure chest. Ryuoku reached for the lid.  
  
"Wait," he thought, "aren't the blue boxes traps? Better use a fortune wire on it just in case." He pulled an ever-changing color piece of wire out of his item inventory. He gently placed the wire on the blue box, and it began to glow multiple colors, and then, as if making up its mind, it suddenly stopped on yellow. He reached for the lid, but that too began to glow colors. It stopped on red.  
  
"A red chest? That doesn't make sense!" he said to no one. He kicked open the lid, and something blue splashed out. It landed on the floor, and just faded away like a defeated monster. In the bottom of the box was a shining, golden axe.  
  
"Is this some high level weapon?" he asked himself. Confused, he equipped it and started hiking up the stairs.  
  
PRESENT

Ryuoku was forced out of his thoughts by Sharie's scream.

"What is it?!" he asked, worried that it was the virus.

"There's a mouse!" Sharie cried. Ryuoku smiled in amusement. "Who puts a mouse in a game? I mean, really. Do..."

She continued to ramble as they walked, and Ryuoku thought back.

FLASHBACK

As Kite and Ryuoku began to leave the room, a blue pile of 1's and 0's started to form.  
  
"Hey! That thing crawled out of the treasure chest that this axe came from!"  
  
"Are you sure? That's a computer virus.. But still," Now he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "DATA DRAIN!" His bracelet began to glow, but that's about it.  
  
"Damn!"  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"My data drain didn't work!"  
  
"Come again?"  
  
"This bracelet," he flashed around his legendary bracelet, " is supposed to drain all virus', but it didn't effect this one!"  
  
The blue mess was starting to change during Kite's explanation. It grew in to something horrible, a disturbing monster swimming with blue mass. Kite took a swing at it, but nothing happened. It merely grunted.  
  
Kite backed off to the wall, and tried the data drain once again. No effect.  
  
Ryuoku started to worry, he started flailing his axe. " We need some type of Virus Drain or something!"  
  
At the words of Virus Drain, the axe started to glow. Blue wires came out of the axe, and grabbed the creature. Slowly, the information of the virus and creature began to get absorbed by the axe. No matter how much it struggled, it shortly perished.  
  
PRESENT

"What's the point of everything Varuchio's done?" he asked himself quietly.

* * *

Subaru and Tsukasa sat in a park. It was full of trees and flowers. Insects hummed happily in the fields as children laughed and played together. Tsukasa suddenly broke out in laughter. He didn't know at what. All he could think about was how much fun he was having.

He was about to stop laughing, and he felt slightly embarrassed until he heard the familiar chime of Subaru's laughter join his. They laughed together in joy.

When Tsukasa finally stopped laughing, he realized something was wrong. Subaru realized it too. The light slowly faded from the fields, and the children stopped playing. Tsukasa looked over at them, and the children all faced him at once.

Their faces were warped and deformed. When they opened their mouths, a low growling sound came out, and their eyes changed to sharp yellow. Their pupils became tiny slits. They faded away, and Subaru faded too.

"Subaru!" he screamed, but it went unanswered in the eternal darkness that now surrounded him. He was balancing on a small ledge, and saw only darkness below. The ledge rumbled. His eyes widened as he saw the source of the vibration. A giant clawed, purple hand that in one swing, swept him into the darkness. He screamed, but it echoed away into the darkness.

REALITY

Tsukasa sat inside the still-life chamber. A few bubbles leaked out from his nose, and Varuchio stared at him from his chair. He soon went back to his work when he realized that it was only a few bubbles.

* * *

Sharie was the first to walk into the final room. It was empty except for a flickering green Chaos gate in the center.

"You think that that's the way to Destruction server?" Sharie asked sarcastically.

"No, maybe we should keep looking," Ryuoku responded, smiling at her.

Sharie and Ryuoku walked up to the gate. "You ready?" he asked.

"Whenever you are," Sharie responded. The two of them warped to the field, leaving the others behind.

"Do you think they forgot about us?" Tsukazi asked, scratching his head.

"Naw," said Cheetra. "They're just anxious."

"Well," began Kenshi. "Are we just gonna sit here?"

"Do you think we came all this way for nothing?" asked Cheetra, not expecting an answer.

"Alright then," Tsukazi said, raising his staff. "Let's go," He warped out of the dungeon. Subaru warped next. Cheetra quickly followed them.

"Why do I have the feeling that something isn't right?" Kenshi asked himself, before joining the others.

* * *

The girl stared at the gate. The others had just left her. Was this abandonment? No, she had felt that before. So what was this feeling that she hadn't been programmed with? She stared at nothing for a while.

Did they have intentions of leaving her their? No, that didn't seem logical. They needed her to stop the virus. So why had they left her? Did they plan on finding another way of stopping this virus?

Again, there was no logic in her theory. So why did they let her stay? Or did they expect her to follow? But what was to stop her from just walking away? She didn't want to, but this still led back to the feeling she didn't know. What was this?

She sat in thought for a few minutes, before her lips parted and let her voice escape with a word.

"Trust..." she whispered, before going to the gate and following the others.

* * *

Subaru stared at her familiar surroundings. The server was designed after Net Slum, but also like a town. It looked sort of like the Relic City Lia Fail that Helba had booted up a while back, only strangely deserted.

"This place gives me the creeps," Sharie said quietly.

"Yeah," agreed Kenshi. "But why is the root town so big?" Ryuoku looked around, and saw that the boy was right. The town was huge. A good thousand feet were between each of the shops, not to mention the vast center of the town. It looked sort of like an arena.

REAL WORLD

Ryu practically jumped out of his chair when he heard the _ping _of new mail.

"What's this?" he asked no one.

Sender: VaruchioSubject: It's about time.

It's about time you made it to Destruction server! Why don't we end this with a final fight? You and me, one on one. Actually, bring all of your friends. It'd be fun to kill you all at once. Keywords are Hopeless, Mysterious, Waste.

Ryu glared at the screen. Did he really think that this was going to work? Ryu formed a plan quickly in his head, and clicked back to the game.

GAME

"That self absorbed-," Ryuoku began. He turned to Sharie and Tsukazi. "We're going to stop Varuchio's trap. I want you four," he pointed to Cheetra, Kenshi, Subaru, and the girl. "I want you to stay here, out of danger."

"Done!" said Kenshi, smiling. He was probably relieved that he didn't have to fight the virus again. Cheetra, however, looked thoroughly depressed. Missing all that experience was probably killing her.

Ryuoku thought for a second before leading the party off to the chaos gate.

FLASHBACK

Sender: KiteSubject: Sorry.

Sorry Ryuoku, but I can't make it. I have something at home that I have to do, and although this seems like a trivial reason not to be saving the world, I still have to do this. Besides, with my bracelet being useless, I'm sure you can handle this on your own. Sorry about this, later!

Ryu closed the mail. It was all right. Kite had already risked himself to save "The World" once. He'd done his part. All the team had to do now was end this.

PRESENT

"What a strange person," Ryuoku muttered to himself before entering the key words, and disappearing from view.

* * *

Cheetra stared at the team leave. Was the final enemy really this easy? How could it end just like this? And what made Ryuoku leave so suddenly, and to another field besides the one they had originally planned?

Cheetra was so lost in thought; she didn't realize the ball of light falling from the sky.

* * *

"Too easy," said Varuchio, and laughed as he pulled the switch to trigger the virus monster hiding in the room that Ryuoku just warped to. He didn't bring the girl, but it didn't matter. The other trap would get her back.

* * *

"What _is _that thing?!" exclaimed Sharie. The room they had warped to was empty, and Ryuoku thought that Varuchio had done this just to be annoying; but when the virus monster appeared in the center of the room, he changed his tone.

"Alright," Ryuoku began. "Stand back," He raised his axe-

_Arrroooooo!_ The demons cry echoed through the cave.

-and watched his life deplete to zero when he was hit with one swing. He crashed into the rocky wall, and watched, as he became a ghost.

"Okay," Ryuoku said as a ghost. "Sharie, you distract the monster with attacks. Tsukazi, you revive me so I can Virus Drain it. Ready? Go!"

"Alright," Sharie said uneasily, before hacking at the enemy.

Light sparkled over Ryuoku, and he saw himself slowly regain strength.

"Okay," Ryuoku started. "Let's go! Virus Drain!"

The blue strands shot out of the axe, and the creature was gone.

"Well done," said a voice covered in static.

"Varuchio," Ryuoku said through gritted teeth.

"I hope you enjoyed my little surprise."

"That's not funny," Sharie said in rage.

"Yeah!" Tsukazi agreed. "We could've been killed!"

"Now what made you think I wanted that?" Varuchio asked in a false caring voice. "And by the way, your friends have a little problem of their own." Ryuoku's eyes widened. "While you were having fun, I activated phase six. And I've slowed the server, so it'll take a while for you to gate out. Hope your friends don't die _too_ quickly."

"No!" cried Ryuoku, but he knew it was useless. The only thing he could do was pray that his friends would make it out.

* * *

The light was a hat, and as the group stared, the blue hat grew ears, and was suddenly attached to a cat's body. Only the cat looked like-

"Macha!" Subaru exclaimed, recognizing the cat instantly. What was she doing here?

Everyone gasped when Macha grinned in an evil way. Her yellow hat changed into a neon blue, and the virus surrounded it. Slowly, the virus surrounded the cat, and it began to grow. Static began to flicker across everyone's screens. The girl backed away into a corner.

Phase 6: Macha: Hell's Temptress.

Subaru was shocked at the red letters. What it meant, Subaru had no clue. All she saw was a giant dress unfolding before them. It was blue, and looked like the hat still perched on her head. The dress was easily ten feet long in every direction, and there was no telling how long it would be if the last crease unfolded. Connected to the top of the dress, was what looked like a woman. She has no pupils, and wore an ever-smiling expression. It scared her.

On top of the head was long blue hair primarily into three sections. Subaru couldn't see how since it was hidden under the hat. One arm protruded from each side, and they both had long silk gloves on. Of course, they too were blue. Pale blue skin was wrapped around the bones of her body.

Subaru took a step back. _What _is _that thing?_ she thought frantically, _could it be phase six?_ Subaru stopped as a thought flashed through her head.

FLASHBACK

Kite yawned, and stretched back. He was enjoying all of the virtual reality scenes.

"Kite?" asked a timid Subaru. "You were talking about the phases, and how they terrorized "The World"?"

"That's right," said Kite. "One of the hardest was most definitely phase six. 'Macha the Temptress'." He recited. "One of her primary attacks was called 'Suspicious Seduction,'"

"What did that do?" asked Subaru.

"It charmed your entire party so I ended up attacking my friends." Kite sighed. "Of course, the trouble we had with her was nothing compared to that of the final phase."

PRESENT

Subaru stared in horror at the now identified monster. It scared her, and the fact that Ryuoku hadn't returned scared her more.

* * *

Cheetra glared at the demon. "A monster in a root town?" she boomed. "What's up with that?"

"I don't know," replied Kenshi, "But we have to do something. It looks like it's going to do something!"

He was right. As soon he finished his words, the monster was surrounded by pink light.

"SUSPICIOUS SEDUCTION!" it boomed, and Cheetra realized that she had lost control of her character. Both her and Subaru were charmed. Kenshi wasn't, though. He was probably equipped with an item that prevented charm. Cheetra and Subaru ran up to each other.

"I'm sorry," panted Subaru as she took a swing at Cheetra. Her life barely moved down.

"Me too," breathed Cheetra, as she killed Subaru in one swing of her high level, limited edition weapon. But Cheetra in the real world froze in terror as she saw her character turn towards Kenshi.

* * *

Macha glared at the humans that it was designed to kill. Nothing went through her head except for her programmed thoughts.

KILL, TERMINATE, STOP, SUSPICIOUS SEDUCTION, ATTACK, DESTROY, STOP, ATTACK, STOP, SUSPICIOUS SEDUCTION, ATTACK, DESTROY, KILL, TERMINATE, SUSPICIOUS SEDUCTION, ATTACK, DESTROY, KILL, TERMINATE, STOP, ATTACK, DESTROY, KILL, TERMINATE, STOP, SUSPICIOUS SEDUCTION, ATTACK, DESTROY, TERMINATE, STOP, ATTACK, **DESTROY!**

_But that isn't you._

The thought was foreign in her system, but it was quickly over ridden.

KILL, TERMINATE, STOP, SUSPICIOUS SEDUCTION, ATTACK, DESTROY, STOP, ATTACK, STOP, SUSPICIOUS SEDUCTION, ATTACK, DESTROY, KILL, TERMINATE, SUSPICIOUS SEDUCTION, ATTACK, DESTROY, KILL, TERMINATE, STOP, ATTACK, DESTROY, KILL, TERMINATE, STOP, -

_But that isn't the real you!_

The thought was more determined, but Macha refused to budge.

_Could the real me be buried?_

Macha was surprised by the thought, but again, it didn't last long.

KILL, TERMINATE, STOP, SUSPICIOUS SEDUCTION, ATTACK, DESTROY...

* * *

Kenshi stared in wide-eyed terror as Cheetra ran towards him. Only logical idea flashed through his head. Run.

He turned and started sprinting away from his attacker, even if it was Cheetra. He ran aimlessly down the twisting corridors of the town. He saw two possible choices. He could run down the ally and circle around, or he could just go in a straight line. Circling around seemed like a better idea, so he went down the ally.

As soon as he rounded the corner to the ally, he regretted it. It was a dead end. A large wall made of wood blocked him off. He ran into it full force in hopes of it falling over. It didn't work, and now his hands hurt.

He turned around, and was ready to face what Cheetra was going to do.

She raised her axe high, and swung down-

_CHUCK!_

-And struck would. Kenshi flinched, and she raised it again, she repositioned her self, and began to swing down.

"Nooooo!" she screeched as the axe came down. It stopped just barely away from his face. The charm wore off.

"I'm so sorry," she choked between sobs. "The pain I could've just caused you," She sank to the ground, and began to cry. "I had no control,"

Kenshi wanted to say something soothing; something to make her feel better, but no sound escaped his pursed lips. He was still frozen with fear. Slowly the color returned to his face, and he turned around.

A one-inch deep slice was in the wood, and Kenshi couldn't have imagined the experience of death he just barely missed.

* * *

Kenshi returned to the battlefield, and resurrected Subaru.

"Where's Cheetra?" she asked unknowingly.

"I thought it'd be better if she didn't go through that again." Kenshi said. He thought it'd embarrass her if she knew that Kenshi had told Subaru she was crying on the ground of a dark ally, so he left that part out.

A swirling of color slowly found its way in front of Macha.

"What _is_ that?" asked Subaru.

As if in answer to question, the swirling stopped, and Aura appeared. "The true Macha is being contained inside this hat. Remove it to stop this being! Please, you must save Macha!" Aura pleaded.

Subaru nodded silently, and Aura flew over to the side to watch this fight. Subaru jumped into the air, and planned to bring her axe down on the hat to knock it to the side. Macha effortlessly swept her aside. She quickly scrambled to her feet to attempt the attack again, and was once again blocked.

_Is this even possible?_ Subaru asked herself. _How are we supposed to defeat this thing?_

An idea struck in her head, and she backed up to Kenshi to tell it to him.

* * *

Varuchio stared at the camera screen he set up in Destruction server. He laughed silently to himself as Macha attacked the stupid angel girl over and over again.

He was startled when the first sound happened. A simple _blub!_ from Tsukasa's capsule, and he dismissed the thought of a threat. The second sound was one that scared him beyond rational thought, a cracking noise that came from the capsule.

The capsule was _breaking_! It was actually failing. Tsukasa was going to get out, and all he could do was watch helplessly as the fluid slowly leaked out of the crack. The glass soon shattered, and liquid spilled over the carpeted room. Tsukasa fell to the ground.

* * *

Macha glared at the beings that quietly talked to each other. What were they planning? She didn't like not knowing something, and was about to attack when the angel-girl attacked again.

Macha swept her away without even trying, and then realized all too late that _she_ wasn't the one to be watching. The blademaster was charging at her, and she couldn't move quick enough to stop him. A swing of his sword, and her hat fell off.

Her mind raced, and frantically, she tried to get the hat back before the other side could stop her. She was too late to stop herself from changing back into a cat, but managed to get the hat back on before the other side took complete control over her again.

Macha tried to change back into the Temptress, but couldn't. She was stuck as the cat. Oh well. Only one thing left to do. She raised her right paw, and a giant, barbell-like creature appeared. It was yellow, and in the center was a ring of sorts. The ring was blue, symbolizing that a Data Drain could not defeat it, for it was made up of the new virus.

It was over for them. She had done something horrible, as her other half thought, but she was happy. She had summoned The Guardian.

* * *

The girl ran frantically down the streets of Destruction server. She knew what Varuchio had done. He had slowed the warping abilities of Ryuoku, and she had to help him.

She reached the Chaos Gate. She clapped her hands together, and a blue strand came out from behind her. It quickly entered the gate, and the girl fell to her knees. It took a lot out of her to summon the virus, but she had used its immense power to fix the field for Ryuoku.

"My name," she whispered. "My name is Terry. I remember."

* * *

Subaru stared in horror at the being standing in front of her. It was her nightmare to see this thing again. The thing that had killed the good-hearted Macha. It was the Guardian, and Subaru felt her legs wanting to give out.

Her eyes widened in horror as a tentacle slid out of the yellow matter. It curled slightly, and then shot at her-

FLASHBACK

And the cat held out a hand to stop it. She turned to Tsukasa, only to see he had a blank look on his face.

_As always,_ she thought

The cat turned to face Tsukasa, and he uttered only a single word.

"Macha," he said quietly.

So the cat had a name, and Subaru did not doubt that this cat was the one that had caused so many problems.

Macha stared back at the three attackers, and lowered his paw. Immediately, three tentacles shot into Macha, and a triple flash of numbers and lights covered the room. Subaru covered her eyes from the glare. A single, silent scream filled the room. Only Tsukasa heard it.

When she opened them, the monsters were gone, and so was Macha. Macha had sacrificed herself to save them.

PRESENT

But what was going to happen to her now? Macha couldn't help, and all she saw was one swift tentacle soaring towards her.

* * *

"It was all a distraction," muttered Sharie feeling utterly defeated.

"All to stop Ryuoku from helping," sighed Tsukazi.

"Warp," said Ryuoku.

"What?" asked Tsukazi and Sharie in unison.

"Warp now," Ryuoku said again. "Something tells me we might be able to help in this fight after all.

* * *

Cheetra ran into the way of the tentacle axe first. The stringy substance seemed to bend, and Subaru breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cheetra?" asked Kenshi.

"Yep!" she said, smiling. "Do you honestly think I'd miss a good fight?"

Kenshi smiled back, and they helped Subaru to her feet.

"But," started Subaru. "What do we do now?"

"How about a Virus Drain?!"

They saw the blue strands before they saw the heavyaxeman responsible.

"Ryuoku!" cried Subaru. "You're okay!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, slightly offended.

They were interrupted by a cry of horror. To Subaru's Surprise, it was Aura. She had forgotten that she was watching.

"No!" she began "Please no! It wasn't your fault!"

Ryuoku looked over to where she was staring, and saw Macha. He began to speak. Apparently, he had triumphed over the hat in the end.

"I'm sorry Aura," she said, "But if my will was bent that easily, then I don't deserve to remain in this world. I'm deleting my data from "The World", permanently."

* * *

The warm carpet was soft, and comforting, but being able to feel at all, Tsukasa knew he was in a coma again. He slowly dragged himself to his feet, and looked at his surroundings.

He was in a nice looking office, and cowering in a corner was a face he barely remembered, but still knew that he hated that person. The man had pale white skin, and long, dark matted hair. A trench coat covered the rest of his body. Tsukasa reached into a corner, and grabbed his staff.

"How are you alive?" asked the man in the office. "Once that capsule failed, then you should have died!"

Tsukasa looked behind him, and saw the remains of what would have been a capsule that the man was talking about. "One thing you should know," Tsukasa said as he walked out of the office. "Although I have the worst luck, I still have the best of it sometimes."

He glared at the man. "Follow me and I'll kill you." With that, he ran out of the office and into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind him. He ran out into what looked like a waiting area, complete with a secretary's desk. "Subaru," he whispered as he walked out of the room. "Where are you?"

* * *

Macha's image flickered, and pieces of her floated away. "Good-bye Aura. And to you all," said the cat who could finally be heard. "I'm sorry."

More pieces floated away until the cat looked like a half-finished jigsaw puzzle, and then faded away into nothing. Aura looked deeply depressed, but still turned to Ryuoku.

"You have to save "The World,"!" she whispered. "You have to hurry! The World Wide virus storm will happen whenever Varuchio feels like throwing the switch! At that moment, every computer in the world will send the virus into any living organism, and they will all become part of "The World" forever!"

"Who could do that?" asked Sharie. Then she felt like slapping herself. Varuchio would do anything to get what he wanted. But what did he want?

"Please," Aura said. "You must hurry!" She faded away, and Ryuoku stared at nothing.

"What now?" asked Subaru as Terry rejoined them.

"We wait," he whispered. "Wait for Helba, and wait for an answer. If nothing happens in an hour, we go to Lost Eternal Suffering for Tsukasa."

END

Again, sorry about how it took so long. As I said earlier, I don't have Word anymore, so it takes a while to get access to a computer. Well, please read and review! By the way, this is the second to last chapter. Sorry, but it's almost over.


	21. Vaccine

This is the _last_ chapter. The ending to the story. Will Tsukasa escape? Will this work out? Everything ends in this chapter. Have fun reading!

Vaccine

Tsukasa's hand was numb. His forehead was drenched with sweat. It wasn't that it was hot; it was the fact that he couldn't see.

Tsukasa had pushed open the door leading out into what looked like a hallway. It was plain, and ordinary at first glance, but Tsukasa realized his first assumption had been blinded by the need to escape. The hallway was actually very fancy, and it looked like a large amount of money had been pissed away on decorating it.

Elegant curtains hung every few feet on the sides of the walls, and in between every other set was what looked like solid gold end tables with highly sophisticated lamps on them. Between the others was a shrubby looking plant growing out of an aqua colored pot with purple bottoms. Every other curtain or so had a portrait of someone hanging above the plant or table.

"Adult's are so selfish," he whispered, reminding himself of the past. He hadn't gone more then three feet when the electric chandeliers above him went out, and darkness covered him. He immediately began to panic. What if this was that freak's idea of a game, and he released some monster into the darkness to attack him?

After a few more feet of blind stumbling, he managed to convince himself there were no monsters, but still hadn't convinced himself that there wasn't a trap set. He'd placed his hand on the wall, and began dragging it along with his body to trace the wall.

That was why his hand was going numb, and because he was being paranoid, he had broken into a sweat. He'd been walking for what felt like a good twenty minutes, and hadn't gotten anywhere.

"Where am I?" he asked the darkness, and was answered by ominous silence.

* * *

Ryuoku stared at the center of the town, waiting for Helba. They'd been waiting for twenty minutes, and they were only planning on waiting ten more.

"It's been so long," Sharie said. "Since this all first started. Do you remember when we met?"

"Met?!" teased Ryuoku. "You practically ran me over with questions and your anxious attitude that lead to an adventure in some high level dungeon!"

"Ah, so what?" Sharie argued. "You were a newbie any way."

"So were you!" claimed Ryuoku, which triggered a stupid argument.

"Why did they do that?" asked Tsukazi. "They both knew what would set the other one off."

"I think it's the way the express their feelings about each other," Cheetra said over the war that was forming in front of them. "Neither one can actually admit the way they feel about each other, and they end up being embarrassed by that, which leads to a fight."

Kenshi stared at her blankly. "How would _you_ know?"

Cheetra glared back. "Because I always know."

"Or they could just annoy each other," Tsukazi said. Cheetra glared.

* * *

Terry bent her head to the side.

Three new feeling where flowing into her form the others. They were strange, and hard to analyze, but she thought she new what they were. They felt warm, and made her happy. Something she had never felt in her life.

"Care," she whispered. "Love, and friendship."

* * *

Somehow the fight managed to work itself over to who lived in the better part of Japan. Both claimed they were near a coastline, both said a hospital was within walking distance from their house, and yet they neither one would tell the other exactly where they lived. Kenshi found the entire fight useless, and Subaru sighed.

"What's all the noise about?"

The cool voice sank into their ears, and made Sharie and Ryuoku stop fighting immediately. It was Helba, and Sharie immediately attacked her with questions.

"Who do you think you are, sending us into a trap like that?!" Sharie demanded.

"I'm afraid that wasn't me," Helba said. Her tone didn't change. "I'm afraid Varuchio has the ability to hide his true identity behind another's body. He simply traced my ID number and had himself a copy of me."

Sharie looked sick. "That's just wrong," she said under her breath.

"Yes," Helba agreed, "But you have limited time left. You must go to Lost, Eternal, Suffering before it's too late. The keywords will bring you to a dungeon. On B3, you'll have a decision to make. One of the two paths will take you to a golden door. The other will bring you to a room full of the virus, and you would be killed."

"Oh," started Kenshi. "That's..._nice_." he managed to whisper.

"Why don't you tell us _which_ path is the right one?" asked Ryuoku.

"Because even a hacker doesn't have all the answers," Helba said, and then turned to Ryuoku. "When you reach the main lobby, I'll tell you what to do from there."

"Wait," began Sharie. "Main lobby? What're you talking about?"

"You'll understand," Helba said, and then waved, and warped away.

"Could she be any more _vague_?" Sharie said. Ryuoku answered with a shrug.

"We might as well get going." Ryuoku said, and then walked over to the Chaos Gate.

"But," started Kenshi. "How will we know which path?"

"I guess we should just, well, guess." Ryuoku answered.

"Oh," responded Kenshi. "You guess we'll... We'll what?!" Kenshi exclaimed, as he finally understood. It was too late, though. The group was already leaving. He groaned, and walked over to the Chaos Gate with Terry. "Let's go,"

"Right," she said, and disappeared into a swarm of rings.

"Well, might as well get going," he muttered to no one. "But I just hope that _that_ was the real Helba,"

* * *

Tsukasa walked along in the darkness. It had to have been at _least_ half an hour. He sighed, and stared into the darkness. It'd be easier if he could at least _see_.

_Oh!_ he thought. _Rai Rom, stupid!_

"Rai Rom!" he shouted, and the lightning came out of nowhere. He smiled as the room was briefly illuminated, and he could see that another turn in the hall was just ahead.

The light faded, and he walked further along the hallway. At least he knew that a monster wasn't lurking in the darkness ahead. He laughed silently to himself. How could he have thought that there were dangers in such a fancy place?

He smiled to himself as he rounded the corner using the map in his head, and quickly stopped as he heard it. The low gurgling noise that sounded like someone was trying to breath through water.

He froze as the noise grew into a deep growl, and he stared at nothing. He was trapped by some kind of monster with no way to see.

* * *

Ryuoku thought he was nervous during the dungeon. It was nothing compared to how he felt when he saw the fork in the path on B3. He felt like he was going to vomit. Even worse, it felt like the entire team was waiting on him to make a decision.

_What do I do?_ he asked himself mentally.

A scream pierced the silence. It was faint, and growing weaker, but Subaru immediately stared down the left path.

"That was Tsukasa!" Subaru exclaimed, and began to charge down the path before anyone could stop her.

"She knew from _that_?!" asked Kenshi.

Ryuoku stared at him for a second, and then led the others down the path. Subaru better know what she was doing.

At the end of the path was a gold door that Subaru seemed to have already gone through. Ryuoku stared at the door for a second, and wondered why someone could cause all of this, and how the virus could still be thriving when Tsukasa was awake.

Then it dawned on him that he still hadn't met Tsukasa. He could always go by the strange dreams he'd been having, but there was no guarantee that that was what Tsukasa looked like.

"Come on, Ryuoku!" called Sharie. He shrugged off the thought, and realized that the others had already gone through the door.

"Coming!" he called, and steeped through the door.

* * *

Subaru ran down the stone hall, leaving Ryuoku and the others behind. She's probably need there help, but she couldn't think of anything besides getting to Tsukasa. That cry had sounded desperate.

When she reached the door at the end of the hall, she was out of breath, but she didn't stop. Subaru through the door open, and saw absolute darkness meet her. She looked around the area of the cave near the door, and saw nothing, until she looked to her right. A fuse box was planted towards the left of the door, and it only had one switch.

"Talk about user friendly _and_ convenient," she murmured to herself. She pulled the switch, and watched it disappear into nothing and the lights come on. She rushed in, and heard Tsukasa's voice again.

Looking around for the source, she saw a small ventilation shaft in the ceiling above her. Tsukasa must've been right above it when he first called. He sounded a little distant know, as if she was backing up. A sharp growling sound also came through the vent, and Subaru stared blankly up it.

A long way up, she saw something like a claw step over the vent. It was big enough to completely cover the vent, but only half of its foot was over the duct. At the sight of this..._thing_...she ran as fast as she could toward a set of stairs, vaguely taking in the details of her surroundings.

_Polished white floor and ceiling, fancy furniture, an elegant chandelier hanging a little ways off the ceiling._

She pushed open a door, and found a staircase leading up stairs. She ran up the steps, and didn't even realize the camera that was watching her.

* * *

Varuchio glared at the screen that showed the angel-girl running up the steps of _his_ building. How dare they intrude on his property! It didn't matter anyway. The girl was about to be eaten with her little escaping friend.

Something shining on the screen caught his eye. It was Ryuoku and his little patrol of annoyances. He grinned to no one as he moved to the center of his office. It was time to pay Ryuoku a personal visit. The carpeted circle of a platform moved slowly down a secluded elevator shaft. It was big enough for ten, but he enjoyed his space.

"Ryuoku," he said quietly. "It's time to die."

* * *

Ryuoku ran into the main hall to join up with his friends.

"I guess that this is what Helba meant," whispered Sharie, absorbing the grand, yet ominous elegance of it all.

"Speaking of her, shouldn't she be contacting us?" asked Ryuoku.

"I thought so too-!" Sharie was interrupted by a strange noise. The chandelier disappeared into the ceiling and a large elevator came down with a crooked looking man on it. His pale skin and dark matted hair were the only visible features. Everything else was covered by a long trench coat.

"I'm afraid she won't be able to contact you." he said in a smooth voice.

"Why not? And just who do you think you are?!" demanded Sharie, But Ryuoku knew who he was, even before he said his vile name.

"Varuchio Zespugo," he said. "And she can't contact an area that's not a server."

"How can you do something like this in a game?!" demanded Ryuoku, his rage building.

"A game?" he asked rhetorically. "This _game_ is my life. I no longer exist in the real world." At the look of confusion on Ryuoku's face, he continued. "I used my virus to put myself in this game. I had my servants disguise my death as a suicide-," he was interrupted by a young voice.

"_Death_?!" Tsukazi cried. "You _died _from this virus?!"

"Yes," Varuchio said calmly, and then grinned. "And I can pretty much guarantee that your brother will too. Unless the virus is deleted from the world, then all comatose players will die, even if paramedics have kept them alive this long,"

Tsukazi and Kenshi had on faces of pure horror. Varuchio was grinning. Ryuoku and everyone else were angry.

"How could you do that?" asked Sharie. "Without honestly feeling remorse for you actions?"

"The same way I could do this," he whispered, and pulled out a remote control with a single button. He pushed it, and an alarm sounded. A recording of a calm woman began.

TEN MINUTES UNTIL VIRUS STORM.

Ryuoku's first reaction was to try and log out to warn people to stay away from their electronics, and then realized that he wasn't holding a controller anymore. All he felt in his hand was the smooth metal of his axe.

REAL WORLD

Ryu wasn't moving. His head was down on his desk. His breathing slowed, and the controller fell from his hands.

GAME

Ryuoku felt his mouth go dry.

* * *

Tsukasa ran away from the being that was chasing him. Why had he been so stupid as to call for help? No one was there but him. He was so scared that he barely realized the lights had come back on. He skidded to a halt as he realized that he had ran back to the door he began at. Feeling trapped, he turned around, and saw the beast for the first real time in the light. It was like a small-sized dragon, if you could call bigger then a car small.

He was about to admit death when he saw a flash of blue, and then the swift swing of an axe. The demon faded away like a normal monster.

"Subaru!" he cried. "You're here!" She ran up to Tsukasa and hugged him.

"I've missed you so much," cried a teary eyed Subaru. She was the happiest person in the game at that point, but it quickly changed as she realized that she was actually holding the axe in her hand, and that she could feel Tsukasa's warm clothes.

TEN MINUTES UNTIL VIRUS STORM.

Subaru pulled away from Tsukasa, and realized that now wasn't the time to be all teary eyed and weak.

"Tsukasa, did you see an office?" Subaru asked.

"Yeah," he began. "That's where I woke up."

"Show me!" she said anxiously, and Tsukasa wondered why she cared about an office. As he led he through the door behind them, he immediately realized something wasn't right.

"This isn't right," Tsukasa said as he pushed the door open into a foreign room.

"This is the main hall," Subaru commented. "And that is Ryuoku,"

* * *

Sharie turned around to see Subaru and Tsukasa walk into the room. Apparently, Varuchio saw them too.

"Good," began Varuchio. "You're all here. It's time for fun." At his words, the walls melted away, and complete darkness filled everything. A heartbeat began. It slowly grew louder and louder until it was almost defining; and then he saw it. Ryuoku saw the ultimate terror.

A giant monster appeared from nowhere. It was a skeletal type monster, with mostly a ribcage showing. A small head was perched on top of the massive thing, and a long clawed arm was hanging on to the ribs. What looked almost like a heart was in the center of the thing.

"Jesus," whispered Sharie. "It's huge,"

The awe that the team was in was broken as the thing lunged at them. Varuchio laughed at the scene. Sharie quickly pushed Ryuoku on top of Varuchio. He immediately caused the man the collapse. Pretty weak.

"_Go_!" cried Sharie. "End this nightmare! Take the elevator to his office, because I'm sure that's where it goes, and place Terry in the capsule! go!" She wouldn't allow Ryuoku to protest.

The elevator was the one lone thing that hadn't disappeared. A stroke of luck in an otherwise hopeless situation. Sharie slammed her fist onto the start button on the console that had traveled with the elevator. When it was out of view, Sharie focused on the monster, only to realize it had gone after Ryuoku.

* * *

Ryuoku glared at the frail man hiding in the corner of the elevator that had turned out to be Varuchio. "How could you do this?" Ryuoku demanded finally.

"Easy," he answered, regaining his cocky attitude. "I was an outcast in the real world, so I decided to make everyone come _here_, where I was all powerful." His grin turned into a frown. "But then _you_ had to get that stupid weapon," he motioned at Ryuoku's axe. "And begin draining my beautiful virus."

"Your sick-," was all Ryuoku had time to say before the huge, _thing_, crashed into the bottom of the elevator, speeding it up for a short time before causing a dramatic decrease in speed.

The thing roared, and flew up next to the elevator platform. It roared again, and swung its inhumanly long claws. Ryuoku dove down to the ground with Terry, but still heard a high squeal of pain escape from behind him as the sound of ripping cloths chorused it.

Ryuoku turned his head, and saw what he was afraid of. A strange mix of relief, disgust, and unhappiness filled him as he saw three claw marks embedded in Varuchio. What confused him the most was the blood. Varuchio was bleeding. The virus was causing him to die in "The World". He was horrified, and his eyes met only the cold lifeless stare of Varuchio's.

"No," he whispered, and immediately feared for Kenshi, but that lasted about half a second before he realized that the thing was still hovering next to the elevator. "Virus..." he began as he pushed Terry behind him. "Drain!"

The blue strand pulsed from the axe, and inserted themselves into the creature in front of him. It glowed blue, and Ryuoku thought it might have been this easy, until the glowing stopped and the creature had barely a scratch on it.

It started to roar again, but it was cut off as the elevator reached its final destination of a dark office.

* * *

Sharie stared blankly at the darkness above, and saw nothing. "The creature must've been after the girl.

"That creature," began Subaru. "Was the one that took Tsukasa that day." Sharie stared in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" she asked. "Varuchio has complete control over the thing that took him in the first place?"

Subaru barely had time to nod before her eyes widened in horror. The creature was coming down form the ceiling, in a complete rage. It was most likely frustrated that Ryuoku and Terry had somehow gotten away.

Now it was pissed off. It looked like it could kill them in less then a second just by venting its rage. If Ryuoku didn't hurry, they were doomed.

* * *

FIVE MINUTES UNTIL VIRUS STORM. REPEAT. FIVE-

The voice was relentless in Ryuoku's ears. He only had five minutes to figure out what he had to do or they were doomed. As he looked around the office, he saw a set of seven black computer screens that he had no doubt were the ones Varuchio used to monitor where the team was, and when to throw the switch to activate a phase.

Four minutes were left when Ryuoku discovered that the shattered pieces of glass and a stand with wires connecting, and probably holding, to the top piece were the remains of a capsule. Ryuoku helped Terry stepped into the capsule.

"Virus-?" Ryuoku was cut off by Terry's cry.

"Wait!" she cried.

"What is it?" asked Ryuoku.

"What'll happen to me when this happens?" she asked.

THREE MINUTES LEFT BEFORE VIRUS STORM. REPEAT. THREE-

"I'm not sure," Ryuoku said as best he could. The girl wasn't that old, and telling her that she might cease to exist was; well, _hell_, she was only thirteen. She stared at her feet, and Ryuoku wasn't sure if he could do this.

TWO MINUTES LEFT BEFORE VIRUS STORM. REPEAT. TWO-

"I'm ready," she said quietly. As Ryuoku was about to raise his axe and end the nightmare, the girl pulled him into a hard hug, and she didn't want to let go. Soft tears trickled down her cheek, and onto Ryuoku's shoulder. The girl pushed away, and let the drain commence.

She screamed in pain, but slowly faded away. Ryuoku watched her go, and saw her no longer.

REAL WORLD

A young girl shot up in a hospital bed screaming. A nurse in the room came over to her said and calmed her down. The nurse had a look of unease on her face. The girl was said to have been never able to wake up, but she did. The girl woke up. Terry woke up.

GAME

Before she faded completely, her rags seemed to become clean, and formed a smooth short sleeve shirt and neatly ironed blue jeans. She looked almost like she belonged in the real world.

The effect of her disappearance was immediate. A blue wave that looked almost liked a curtain swept out from where she had been standing, and Ryuoku had no doubt that it would destroy the virus.

WARNING, ONE MINUTE LEFT. 59...58...57...56...

The curtain swept over the computer console, and the countdown faltered, and the message changed.

53...52...51...APPLICATION TERMINATED. REPEAT. APPLICATION-

The new message made Ryuoku sigh in relief. The wave of what seemed like a true vaccine swept around the room. It seemed to absorb the capsule, and melted into the walls of the room; surely seeking out more of the virus, and, with any luck, causing the comatose players to wake up. He'd done it. It was over. Hopefully.

* * *

The monster stared at them. Hating their existence. It felt like killing them all. Like killing everything, and sense the girl seemed to no longer exist, it had nothing to distract it from this job.

It roared, and stopped as it saw the blue wave hit it. The pain was agonizingly long. It was like what that blue haired one had done, only a thousand times over. It knew it was dead before too long.

* * *

Kenshi stared in awe as the creature slowly disappeared from the wave. He saw it vanish in one agonizing cry, and he saw that the wave didn't stop. It kept going, and it passed the others. Nothing seemed to happen to them. He smiled and expected nothing to happen to him. He never expected the wave to engulf him in pain.

He screamed in pain, and began to lose feeling in his fingers, his body, everywhere. His vision faded, and the last thing he heard was a desperate cry from Cheetra.

* * *

The wave swept around "The World", cleaning out the virus it saw. The special event keywords that Varuchio set as a trap disappeared of the word list, and all comatose players began to wake up as the wave swept over their bodies in the game.

The virus that had began crawling over everything and every server was deleted. The event that had caused so much pain and suffering that the players placed in the same category as the Deadly Flash slowly faded from the game. Destruction server was completely deleted from the game, and not even a hacker like Helba could bring it back.

Rumors began spreading like wildfire as the number of players increased again as CC Corp. sent out mail that excused all of their other notices, and said that "The World" would not be moving offline after all. Only one group knew the strange happenings that had actually taken place. Tsukasa decided not to log in again, until he had created a new account.

EPILOGUE

A boy moaned, and stirred in a hospital bed. His character name had been Kenshi in "The World", now he was just plain Ken Irowka. He finally managed to open his eyes, and burning sunlight met his gaze.

He rolled to his left, towards the door to his room, and saw a girl of about sixteen.

"Cheetra?" he asked. She smiled.

"Bingo," she whispered. "And personally, I'm glad you're not some forty-year old loser who was playing the game all alone,"

"How did you find my room? And what hospital is this?" he asked.

"Easy," she answered. "All I did was ask the nurse to let me see a comatose player named Kenshi, but before I could finish saying 'Kenshi' she cut me off and pointed to your room. I just figured that your real name was Ken, so,"

"That was dangerous!" Ken said. "What if I turned out to be some stalker?!"

"Well," she started. "I think it's easy to see that you _not_, so,"

"Well how did you know what hospital I was in?" he asked.

"Just guessed," she said dismissively.

Ken stared at the TV in the corner of his room. Cheetra must have turned it on while she was waiting. A news reporter in a red dress was talking.

"All around the world the comatose players are waking up. We'll have more information on this topic at seven, stay tuned for..."

"Everyone?" asked Ken. "Even Dain?"

"I guess only Tsukazi would know," she said. "I'm just happy you woke up." She hugged him, and Ken smiled weak smile.

* * *

Max pushed open the door to his brother's room, and ran up to Dain when he realized he was awake.

"Dain!" Max gasped. "You're alright!"

"Almost wasn't," a deep voice in the corner of the hospital room made him jump. Max turned to see his dad. "They had ta do everything they could ta keep tha' kid alive."

"Oh," said Max towards his dad. "And you would have mad sure that I wouldn't have gotten taken care of?"

"Son," he whispered. "I've been a crappy father, and I know that, but could you at least give an old man a chance to make it up to you?"

"And how do plan on doing that?" demanded Max.

"How abou' goin' ta Taco Bell? I know it's your favorite fast food place. I'd like ta take ya ta tha' fancy restaurant, but I need to get a better job if I'm gonna be supportin' the two of ya."

Max gave a small grin. "One chance," he said.

"I won't blow it," said his dad, and Dain gave a feeble smile.

* * *

Ryu walked out in front of his apartment building. It was a fine day, and he new things would be getting better.

FLASHBACK

"Hiyaki residence," mumbled Ryu as he picked up the phone.

"Is this Ryu?" asked a scratchy voice.

"Yes, who is this?" he asked.

"This is the hospital, your mother woke this morning. She's stable, and will be released after a few tests to make sure nothings wrong."

PRESENT

A teenage girl walked out onto her front porch. She saw a boy standing across the street. Immediately she felt her face grow hot. He was Ryuoku, the one she was growing a crush on. He seemed to see her too, and ran across the street.

Instantly she remembered Shane, but no regret came when she thought of Ryuoku. He tripped in the street, but got up. He didn't stay down like Shane did. He got up, and finished crossing the street.

"Sharie?" he asked.

"Mm-Hm. But in the real world, my name's Crystal. Yours?"

"It's Ryu." Ryu said. "Boy, we're dumb. We couldn't even figure out that we were neighbors," Crystal laughed, and then suddenly felt a strong urge to hug him. She didn't fight it, and Ryu returned it.

THE END

Hey! That's the last chapter! But don't think I'm just gonna ditch the fact that Terry woke up! I'm going to write another story to bridge the events of this, and the sequel, .hackHEARTLESS ENTITY. But the bridging story is called .hackSECRETS. Here's a free sample.

The woman in the pink fuzzy bathrobe was concerned. She had long dark hair, like hers, and was young. She looked so old though. She was only thirty-two, but seemed ancient. The man next to her claimed that she had been under a lot of stress lately. Both claimed they were her parents; she had no way to tell. One week ago, she woke up from a coma in the hospital and couldn't remember anything; anything, that is, except for her name. Her name was Terry.

Does it seem like a good story? Well, it'll be up soon, and then it will be followed by the sequel. That's all for now.


End file.
